$693K In Drones, Upgrades To Police Station And Library Coming To Hillsborough

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Nearly $700,000 in resolutions were approved by the Hillsborough Township Committee for equipment for the police and upgrades to the police station and library at last week's meeting.

The Committee passed the four resolutions at its Feb. 24 meeting.

Drones

A resolution authorizing the purchase of two drones and accessory equipment from Terrestrial Imaging through the Bergen County Cooperative Contract for $24,999.91 for the Hillsborough Police Department

The cost was covered through a $5,000 grant from the Bergen County Cooperative and a $20,000 annoymnous donation made to the PBA.

"I think it's a great opportunity to help empower your team to make sure you keep everybody safe," said Committeeman Bob Britting. "I think it's the newest way to do it, and I'm glad to see that we're going in that direction."

Mayor Catherine Payne echoed Britting's sentiments on the drones, sharing how useful they will be in search and rescue efforts in the Sourland Mountain Preserve in the Township.

"Those drones will be incredibly helpful and time-saving for the residents that we lose every year while hiking in the Sourlands. Those woods are very dark, those mountains are very windy, and sooner than later, that dusk turns into nightfall, and inevitably, we misplace someone temporarily. So, these drones will be integral in finding them quickly, before hyperthermia or anything else could happen to them," said Payne.

Committeewoman Samantha Hand said that the Township has four qualified FAA drone operators.

She added that these drones can also be used in many different types of search efforts, including in December 2024, when a drone was suspected to have crashed in Hillsborough. Related: Hazmat, Cops, Helicopters Search For Reported Crashed Drone In Hillsborough Field

"The drone was suspected to have gone down over by Lowe's and it took hours and hours in the freezing cold for first responders to comb the field. So, this would have been a great opportunity to be able to have used a drone to find the drone that never fell but was sighted," said Hand.

Police Station Upgrades

The Township approved a resolution to award a contract to BGD Contracting for $593,000 for the renovations to the Hillsborough Police Department Project.

In September 2025, the Township started moving forward on the project to add more space for female officers in the locker room. At that time, a resolution authorizing Cornerstone Architectural Group to provide Architectural Design Services for Police Department Interior Alterations for $85,250 was approved on Sept. 9. Read More: $519K In Purchases, Upgrades For Hillsborough DPW, Police

"We're moving forward with some of the things that we had planned last year. One is the police department renovations that are vastly needed for our expanding police department for our locker room for our female officers, who are very valuable to us as well as our other ones," said Deputy Mayor Shawn Lipani.

The Township Committee also approved a resolution authorizing the purchase of $24,991.94 in ammunition from Eagle Point Gun/TJ Morris & Sons for the police department.

Library

The Somerset County Library System of New Jersey branch in Hillsborough will also see an improvement.

The Township Committee approved a resolution authorizing Cornerstone Architectural Group to Provide Architectural Design Services for the Library's North Quadrant Roofing Replacement for $50,380.

While the library is closed for the repairs, Lipani said the library will also be redoing its carpets inside.

"It's important for us to repair the roof," said Lipani, who added he was "happy to see that we're moving forward with."

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