Preview: April 23 Town Council meeting

Proposals to approve a $416,955 contract to resurface the high school soccer field, a $35,515 contract change order to purchase four street surveillance cameras, and a contract change order to pay an additional $94,000 to an engineering firm on the Mayfair sewer project headline the agenda of the April 23, 2013, town council meeting.

The meeting also includes the 2013 public hearing on the town budget, which would raise property taxes 1.8% and spending approximately 4%, and a presentation on town crime and safety issues. (Police chief has confirmed the presentation, but I haven't seen it on an agenda yet.)

The meeting agendas and related materials are here.

The administration is asking council approval of a $416,955 contract to replace the artificial-turf surface at the high school soccer facility, known as Lincoln Field. The administration is asking to amend the authorizing shared-services agreement between the town and school district so that the district can contribute funding for the cost that exceeds the town’s $400,000 commitment. It’s unclear how much the district is contributing – the contract resolution specifies $16,955, while the shared-services resolution cites $20,000 (along with another $15,000 the district will pay for field markings).

The administration is asking council approval to purchase four additional street surveillance cameras for $35,515 – an average of $8,879 per camera -- from Packetalk. The council majority last year approved the purchase of seven cameras – at a cost of $6,200 per camera -- and related technology from Packetalk for a total of $207,803. It’s unclear why the new cameras are 43 percent more expensive – an additional $10,715 in total -- although the resolution specifies that the cost includes installation.

The administration is asking council approval to pay another $94,000 to the engineering firm of Paulus Sokolowski & Sartor for additional work on the Mayfair District Storm Sewer Improvements project. The administration didn’t provide a detailed listing of the components of the additional payment. The requested funding is a 67% increase in the original $139,390 contract amount. The resolution states that additional state grant and loan funding is available and that the additional work has saved approximately $200,000 to $250,000 of project costs.

Other administration requests include proposals authorizing:

- Awarding a competitively bid contract for $127,115 to Grabowski Construction for work on Nicolas Avenue to remediate a silt and sediment problem on Terrace Avenue.

- Two contracts to provide health services, one to Garden State Laboratories for $5,000 for public health testing and one to the University of Medicine and Dentristy of New Jersey for $4,752 for tuberculosis services.

- Support for PSE&G’s request for $3.9 billion in infrastructure projects, citing recent weather-related damage. The company’s proposal, known as "Energy Strong," has encountered initial broad opposition. The council tabled the resolution at the previous council meeeting.

- Raising the pay scale for Public Works supervisors to reflect a recent labor contract agreement.

I’m a West Orange Township councilman since 2010 and reachable at jkrakoviak@westorange.org. I am a business communications consultant in my spare time.