The Town Council on Tuesday approved bonding for a $2.3 million capital budget, the first capital budget to be approved in at least two years. Thousands of dollars will be spent on infrastructure repairs.
“When you provide a new service, or upgrade your services, a lot of times you need to update your equipment,” said Mayor Michael Gonnelli. “There has been no capital budget, at least, in the last two years. I know [$2.3 million] is a big number, but the money for the allocation of this bond has already been approved in our [2010] budget.”
The mayor said that the three “big ticket items” that will be purchased with money from the capital budget include a new Elgin street sweeper to replace a sweeper bought in 1991; a rescue vehicle that will replace a rescue truck that dates back to 1987; and a recycling truck that will replace two recycling vehicles bought back in 1988 and 1993.
“I know we’re a corporate partner of Secaucus. But I’d also like to think we’re a resident of Secaucus and I’d like to build on that.” – Mark Kendrick, UPS
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In addition to the three truck purchases, the town also plans to:
• pave Weigand Lane;
• repave Myrtle Ave.;
• install a new roof on the Buchmuller Park pavilion;
• install new parking meters;
• make upgrades at playgrounds in town, starting with those at Charles St. and Reidel Ct.;
• refurbish a 1996 CAT loader;
• install better lighting along several streets;
• resurface the top parking lot at Kane Stadium; and
• resurface the basketball courts at Shetik Field.
The town’s flood control project will also move forward.
Old capital money will be used to pay for some of this work as well.
Bussing programs eliminated
Second Ward Councilman James Clancy announced Tuesday that two bussing programs that had previously served students in pre-kindergarten through the sixth grade have been eliminated.
The town will realize a total annual cost savings of approximately $31,700 as a result of the move, which Clancy said will actually benefit the 122 students who had been bussed.
Children in the Aftercare Program, who had previously been bused to the town’s daycare center at the end of their school day, will now remain in their “home school” for Aftercare services.
The Aftercare Program provides after school child care for working parents.
The elimination of Aftercare busing for that program will save the town $23,000, Clancy said.
A similar bus program that had served children in pre-kindergarten has also been discontinued, for a cost savings of about $8,700. Pre-K Aftercare, which had previously been run out of Clarendon School and Huber Street School, was this year consolidated at Huber.
Community Center debut pushed to Oct. 2
The opening date for the town’s new community center at 145 Front Street has been pushed back to Sat., Oct. 2 to allow volunteers and other workers time to complete work on the second floor.
The center had been scheduled to open this month, shortly after Labor Day.
“We’re going to begin to do the renovations on the second floor gym, which will be used as meeting rooms for community groups, and also it will be used for basketball and other activities for kids,” the mayor said. “The first floor is just about done.”
On Tuesday the town received a $5,000 donation to the community center from UPS, which has a large facility in Secaucus.
“I know we’re a corporate partner of Secaucus. But I’d also like to think we’re a resident of Secaucus and I’d like to build on that,” said Mark Kendrick, community relations coordinator for UPS. “The youth of Secaucus are very important and so is working with them to help them build successful lives.”
Mayor Gonnelli said that contributions for the center now total $40,000.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.