Just before the North Bergen Board of Commissioners meeting started on Wednesday, officials in the room said that the town will have a dedication ceremony at Bruins Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 5 honoring Vincent Ascolese, the longtime high school football coach for over 35 years.
The field will be renamed the “Vincent Ascolese Field at Bruins Stadium.” Following the ceremony, the Bruins will face off against footballers from the Peddie School from Hightstown.
Also at the meeting, town spokesman Phil Swibinski spoke of the new “help desk” feature on the renovated town website, northbergen.org.
“They’re getting a lot of requests on the North Bergen Helpdesk,” said Swibinski. “It seems to be working pretty smoothly so far.”
Swibinski also stated that the website’s “soft launch” period, which served as a testing period earlier this month, was successful.
“There were some small things that have been fixed,” continued Swibinski, “but it’s all been ironed out now.”
The commissioners voted on a host of measures.
Resolutions and ordinances
The town passed a resolution to appoint David Ricigliano of Smith Avenue as the emergency management coordinator, a title Sacco had previously held. The emergency management coordinator is a part of the Department of Public Affairs.
“Now he can assume the title, and I’ll have one less title, which makes me infinitely happy,” said Sacco. “To be part of the team is one thing, but to be coordinator is something entirely different.”
The town also awarded a contract to J.A. Alexander, Inc. of Bloomfield in the amount of $386,992.50 to replace the sewer at 91st Street. The company was the lowest of five bidders. Flooding issues on 91st street and Tonnelle Avenue have resulted in complaints from nearby companies such as the Vitamin Shoppe (as seen in an Aug. 21 story of The Reporter).
An ordinance was adopted establishing handicapped spaces on First Avenue, Columbia Avenue, Liberty Avenue, 76th Street, 79th Street, 83rd Street, 85th Street, and 86th Street.
A resolution was also passed recognizing the retirement of North Bergen Patrol Commander Lt. James Somers. He was given over $143,000 in both sick and accrued leave time.
The town also passed a resolution awarding a contract to Goldman, Beale Associates at the rate of $200 per hour to be the municipal financial advisor, with an annual fee cap of $25,000.
Fighting cancer
Mayor Nicholas Sacco and the Board of Commissioners proclaimed the month of November as “Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month” at the meeting.
According to the proclamation, over 44,030 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States and 37,660 will die from the disease. There is no cure, although there have been significant improvements in survival rates in the last 40 years, the proclamation states.
“The good health and well-being of the residents of the Township of North Bergen are enhanced as a direct result of increased awareness about pancreatic cancer,” the proclamation says.
“This is honoring those who are working diligently against this illness,” said Sacco,” and attempting to find a cure … The problem with this ailment is you often don’t know that you have it until it’s kind of too late.”
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.