At a North Bergen Commissioners Meeting on Oct. 8, the commissioners voted to authorize the sale of two land-locked lots that are located behind six properties near the North Bergen/Guttenberg border.
The town foreclosed on the properties, located at 7009 Bergenline Ave., three years ago.
Township Administrator Chris Pianese said that one of the neighbors of the properties recently contacted the township about wanting to buy the land, but by law, it must be offered to every property owner who touches it.
At a private auction, the property will be sold together and will be offered at a minimum of $44,200. The highest bidder will be required to provide a deposit of 10 percent of the purchase price in cash or by certified check.
The two lots total 26 by 68 feet, or approximately 200 square yards.
Pianese said that the auction will happen at least 20 days after the ordinance is published in the newspaper. The township attorney will conduct the auction.
Repairing streets, sewers
The city also noted at the meeting that they have applied for three state grants to improve the business district.
The three grant applications were filed with the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Authority for improvements to Bergenline Avenue, West Side Avenue, and the sewer system for 91st Street.
The funds are raised via the low 3.5 percent sales tax that is collected in state-designated urban UEZ areas, like in North Bergen.
The first application is for $1.4M that will help replace traffic signals on Bergenline Avenue.
“Many of [the traffic signals] are very, very old, and we constantly have to fix them,” said Mayor Nicholas Sacco.
Sacco said that they waited some time to fix the signals because they wanted to do so without placing the burden on the taxpayers.
The township also authorized an application for $1.1M to repair parts of West Side Avenue. He said it could take up to a year to repave the entire road, due to the heavy traffic and industry located in the area.
A $1.7 grant will go to the second phase of improvements to the sewer system at 91st Street. The town says the area will have a commercial future, as a mall is scheduled to open there.
“There’s a lot of traffic and it’s constantly flooded,” said Pianese. He said that the first phase of the sewer system improvements occurred near the railroads.
Also at the Oct. 8 meeting, the cap on a contract with Allstate Power Vac, Inc. of Rahway was raised from$387,535 to $407,354. The company was cleaning and inspecting sewer lines on 89th and 83rd Streets, but unexpected services increased the contract by $19,819, officials said.
Off-duty cops to earn more
The North Bergen Commissioners unanimously passed an ordinance that will allow police officers to earn more for off-duty assignments.
The hourly rates for officers on road detail will be $53 per hour, with supervisors receiving $55. Road detail is when a police officer is requested at a road construction site.
Officers on non-road detail will earn $48 per hour for officers and $50 for supervisors. Non-road detail would be if an officer is asked to provide security at a private business. The private entity would sign a contract with the town, and after they pay for the services rendered, the police officers receive their payment.
When police officers are working at a parade or some other off-duty assignment that earns them overtime, the private entity would normally pay $4 an hour for an unmarked or marked police vehicle. Pianese said the fee will now be $9.
“Based on the wear and tear of the cars and with fuel costs going up, it’s not unreasonable to ask for $9 for a car,” said Pianese.
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