Police Locker Room Upgrades to Cost Town $25K

At its first of two October meetings Thursday night, the Hackettstown Mayor and Council will consider an upgrade to the police department’s locker room.

On the council’s agenda, the governing body will be voting to approve an ordinance that would allocate $25,000 to the upgrade, which would expand the facility for use to both men and women. The current police force consists of male officers only.

Those funds, according to town administrator Bill Kuster, were already allocated in the 2012 capital improvement budget. All that is needed is an ordinance to pull the monies from the budget, approved by the majority of the council.

If approved, some of the work on the locker room will be done in house by the Department of Public Works staff, Kuster said. But items such as plumbing, electrical and electrical will be done by licensed professionals.

The start date of the project will begin shortly after the funds are approved, but it may carry into the winter months, Kuster said. The DPW staff is more available for inside work during that time. In the meantime, the DPW is busy with leaf removal and prepping equipment for snow removal, Kuster said.

The meeting will be held Thursday at the municipal building at 7:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.