Bridgewater To Spend $8M On Road Improvements, Public Hearing Set

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A public hearing will be held prior to a final vote by Bridgewater Councilmembers to approve spending $8 million in road improvements on Thursday.

The first reading of the ordinance passed with a 4 to 1 vote at the Feb. 2 meeting. Councilman Filipe Pedroso said he would not approve the ordinance "at this time" citing concerns about approving an expenditure prior to the approval of the township budget.

"First of all, I like the road program. I want to make that 100 percent clear. … I like the administration’s goals… but like everything else in life when it comes to spending money we have to know how much money we are receiving. We need to know what our budget is," said Pedroso at the meeting.

"Without having a budget I can't make a decision. Whether I am doing the right thing or the wrong thing for the Bridgewater taxpayer. I feel like to support something, to support spending $8 million without having a budget, feels to me fiscally irresponsible," said Pedroso.

Councilman Timothy Ring assured the council that there have been discussions with the township's Chief Financial Officer and Finance Committee. He also added that there is a lag on when payments would need to go out for the bond following the design and bid phases.

"We would not see a payment on this until August 2024 from a timing point of view. There is an 18-month lag," said Ring. "That said the real question is does our CFO feel comfortable we can take on this additional payment starting in 2024? Obviously, we don't have a crystal ball on what might happen… but preliminary modeling would suggest yes this is not an issue for us to take on in 2024."

Ring and Council President Michael Kirsh are both currently on the budget and finance committee.

Township Administrator Michael Pappas also talked about the incentives to approve a bond now so that Bridgewater can take advantage of "competitive pricing" earlier in the year from contractors.

"I do support this. We need to take advantage of early bidding to get the best bang for our bucks," said Councilman Howard Norgalis.

This bond is part of Bridgewater's $40 million 5-year road improvement plan launched in 2020. At the end of 2020, the township launched the plan to spend $8 million each year over the next 5 years to remedy the roadways. The target was to improve half of the township's 600 roadways or 250 to 300 roads by the end of the plan.

"I respect what Mr. Pedroso is saying but I also respect the commitment we have made to the residents to repair the roads. And no matter how we look at it there is going to be a cost," said Councilman Allen Kurdyla. "I think if we take the bond ordinance as an opportunity to get an early start on the program this year. I believe the benefit is we would be receiving better pricing, getting more roads done and so forth and to me that is the priority."

Kirsh also echoed his fellow councilmen's sentiments on approving the ordinance.

"I am very comfortable with this year's budget we will be able to accommodate this commitment," said Kirsh.

The bond ordinance going up for a final vote on Feb. 16 would approve the appropriation of $8 million for various road improvements including curbing, milling, drainage, sewer and more. Those roads include:

• Fulton Avenue
• Hancock Avenue
• Duval Street
• Farmer Road
• Juniper Lane
• Birch Drive
• Evergreen Drive
• Hillside Avenue
• Orchard Street
• Loft Drive
• Eastbrook Road

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