In a dramatic turn-around, county officials agreed to allow for the painting of a green line down the center of a section of JFK Boulevard in Jersey City Sunday as part of the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. In discussions during the Hudson County Freeholders’ caucus meeting on March 7, Bill Northgrave, counsel for the county executive, said he would not authorize the painted line because it violated state Department of Transportation regulations. Two weeks ago, Northgrave informed organizers of Jersey City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade organizers of his recommendation, sparking residents to make phone calls to various county officials – including to most of the freeholders, urging them to vote in favor of the line. Bending to public pressure, county officials later authorized the painting of the line as long as parade organizers promised that the paint will be water soluble and the line will be removed after the parade. The prohibition was the subject of an exchange at last week’s freeholder caucus meeting. Freeholders William O’Dea and Maurice Fitzgibbons asked for more information. Northgrave told them the line could pose a safety risk and could leave the county subject to significant fines, as well as possible lawsuits if someone was to be injured. He pointed to litigation that had taken place in Union County when officials there violated a state regulation, claiming the lawsuit had cost that county a bundle. Northgrave said he had served in other governmental agency which had been fined severely for disregarding DOT rules. “We’re putting ourselves in a bit of jeopardy,” Northgrave said, “if we don’t follow DOT regulations. I don’t see the reason for putting ourselves at risk for the purpose of fashion.” Abe Antun, county administrator, said it was not permitted for the county to alter roads, even in washable green paint. But more importantly, he said he believed permitting this use would “open the door” to requests from other organizations that might not be nearly as responsible as the St. Patrick’s Day Committee. He also said the county might not have the adequate resources to make sure the lines are cleaned up. Fitzgibbons, who said the county had permitted this activity in the past, claimed he did not know of any other groups in Hudson County who might want to paint the center line, though he did recall an Italian feast in Newark that painted lines purple there. “I don’t see what difference it makes if two or three groups want to paint the lines different colors as long as they are willing to remove the colors later,” he said, noting that as chairman of the freeholders several years ago, he had mistakenly ordered the permanent painting of the lines on Kennedy Boulevard green, and that no penalty had been imposed by the state. Lights set for tennis in two parks In another matter, Fitzgibbons asked that a contract to make improvements to several parks be delayed until the county could look into purchasing property at Columbus Park in Hoboken. He said the Hoboken Board of Education owns a piece of property in the park near the tennis courts. The current contract calls for the installation of lights at the courts. Fitzgibbons asked that the county look over the entire park plan before making lighting improvements. He feared that if the county did not act, the school board might put something like a dog run on that site – something Fitzgibbons believes would not be conducive to the sports-related activities envisioned for that section of the park. He said the current disheveled condition of the property would make the county’s efforts cosmetic improvement futile. “The site is a wreck,” Fitzgibbons said. “We need to look over what can be done there.” But Freeholder Chairman Sal Vega said the delay would hurt tennis groups in Jersey City who have petitioned for lights to be installed in Lincoln Park. “These tennis groups have been very patient so far and it would not be fair to them to delay this project,” Vega said, asking the other freeholders authorize the project. The freeholders agreed to start work in Lincoln Park while the county looked over the situation in Columbus Park. He noted that the freeholder agenda included a resolution for a land survey of the property that would determine the exact land boundaries and could provide information to negotiate a future land deal with the Hoboken Board of Education. The freeholders awarded a $59,950 contract to T&M Associates of Middletown, New Jersey to begin installing lights in the tennis courts of both parks, and another contract for $2,500 to Hermann K.F. Lange of Jersey City to conduct a survey of Columbus Park. Haircuts for juvenile offenders Freeholder William Braker started to question how the awarding of a haircutting contract for the Hudson County Youth Detention Center had been made, but withdrew his question after recalling that Vega had detailed the matter. The freeholders awarded the $4,000 contract to Beatriz Miron of Union City. Last month, this contract was held up when two freeholders questioned why it had initially been offered to Springfield, New Jersey firm, rather than seeking services within Hudson County. The state administrative code mandates haircutting services when requested by inmate in a juvenile detention center. Freeholder Brian Stack had questioned why the county did not approach local haircutters. Anton said the county had asked haircutters in Jersey City and Hoboken, but that once the full requirements of the job became clear, these places did not want to handle the work. Anton said the job requires weekly visits to the institution, sometimes even more frequently, and that haircutters approached were unwilling to make the commitment O’Dea, however, said the county’s Schools of Technology in North Bergen once ran a program dealing with haircutting, and wanted to know if the program still existed and why the county did not ask the schools to be involved. Vega said that school of cosmetology did still exist, but because the service was in a correctional institute, the haircutter is required to be licensed.