With a presentation to the public on this year’s budget looming, the Shamong Township Committee continued discussions over how to improve the roadways throughout the township at its meeting on Tuesday, April 1.
According to administrator Sue Onorato, the township projects more than $5 million in repairs.
“Obviously, that number is more than can be covered in one year’s budget so we will be prioritizing what needs to be done when,” Onorato said. “That work is projected to take place over the next few years.”
Improving the township’s infrastructure has been a theme of the township’s committee meetings, as the committee has held discussions in regard to other road repairs the township could afford to do under this year’s tentative budget. Onorato said that while they appreciate community concern and suggestions on what work should be done, Shamong would be basing its decisions on the analysis of the township engineer and the knowledge of the public works crew.
“They have the best day-to-day working knowledge of what is in most need of repair throughout the township,” Onorato said. “We will be using their recommendations when figuring out what projects need to be completed first.”
At a meeting in March, the committee granted approvals to township engineer Dante Guzzi and Onorato to submit an application for a federal Department of Transportation grant referred to as a TIGER grant. The grant is specifically for large road projects as it is a minimum of $1 million and is typically awarded to entire counties as opposed to municipalities. The township applied for the grant in 2013 for the repaving of Atsion Road in its entirety but did not receive it. Guzzi advised the committee to submit the application againthis year as the information from last year’s application is already on file and that it would be a much easier application process a second time around.
The weather had been an obstacle for the township’s engineer and public works department as both were unable to fully evaluate the conditions of certain roads as the ground had been frozen until recently.
In other news:
• The committee authorized the establishment of a cap bank, a device many towns use to stretch the 2 percent cap on property tax increases established by Gov. Christie. This allows Shamong to set aside $18,400 to use in either 2015 or 2016, giving the committee some added flexibility on expenses.
• An ordinance amending the township code in regard to prohibited uses and design standards was introduced. The main focus of the ordinance bans erecting any structure that would cause hazards, smoke, fumes, noise, odor or dust. The ordinance includes a long list of banned activities, including junkyards, landfills, stockyards, celluloid or film manufacturing and crematories.
