Town buys land for waterfront park

Also: NB library getting new roof

The township approved a $230,500 contract to replace the North Bergen Free Public Library’s roof, at the Nov. 23 North Bergen Commissioners’ meeting.
The contract was awarded to Gen II Contracting, Co., of Clarksburg, N.J.
Township Administrator Christopher Pianese said that officials noticed cracks forming on the walls due to “settling going on” and immediately brought in the township engineer to figure out what the best solution was. It was recommended that they replace the roof, along with the “trussing,” or internal reinforcement structures, beneath it.
Mayor Nicholas Sacco said that parts of the library have had to be replaced over the years because when it was originally constructed, the town went bankrupt and the roof was charitably completed by a local construction company for free.

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“You don’t move out of your house when you’re doing your roof, so hopefully it is the same thing with the library.” – Nicholas Sacco
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Pianese said that much of the work will be completed during the library’s off-hours and that other construction taking place will be safely done to allow the building to remain open during its normal hours.
“I would like to keep it open,” said Sacco. “You don’t move out of your house when you’re doing your roof, so hopefully it is the same thing with the library.”
Pianese expects the work to span two months.

Commissioners authorize waterfront property purchase

Through a resolution, commissioners approved the purchase of land located at 7200 River Road bordering the Hudson River from K. Hovnanian at $1,620,000.
The resolution serves as an “agreement of sale.”
The township hopes to combine this land with property that Guttenberg has already purchased from K. Hovnanian to create both municipalities’ first waterfront park. Guttenberg has largely paid for costs with grants, while North Bergen hopes that funds will be approved through the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund for this purchase.

Retiring police officer receives $30K

North Bergen Police Officer Joseph Rao retired recently. Commissioners approved a resolution awarding $30,357 in sick leave time to him as a part of his retirement package.

More money for stairway, soccer field

Through resolutions several changes were made to construction projects throughout town.
Commissioners approved a $20,360 increase with Max Adamo Construction, Inc. of Ridgefield, N.J., which brought the total contract to $81,760. This company was hired to remove a stairway along 12th Street which the township deemed as a hazard. However, Pianese said that after the stairs were removed, the retaining wall near it needed to be reinforced, along with the addition to a new wall on the right of the street, which accounted for the additional cost.
Through a resolution, the final cost of North Bergen’s new soccer field, located in James J. Braddock Park, was approved at $1,024,778, a $57,686 addition to their contract with Tec-Con Contractors of Edison, N.J. Pianese said that this was largely due to minor issues, like additional fencing and repainting the goal posts gold. He said that this change order accounted for only 6 percent of the total project.
The last 4 Clean-Up, Inc. of North Bergen, whose final contract amount for repaving North Bergen parks now totals $205,993, got a $13,492 increase due to necessary curb work, said Pianese.

Township purchases three vehicles

A standard cab pickup truck was purchased at $24,365 from Beyer Bros. Corp., of Fairview, N.J. Pianese said that the vehicle will be used by North Bergen E.M.S. to transport the ATV vehicle they use to respond to emergency situations during sporting events. These vehicles cannot be driven on the roads.
In addition, a standard cab pickup truck was purchased from DFFLM, LLC TA, of Flemington, N.J. at $21,695 and a mid-sized dump truck was purchased from Beyer Bros. Corp. at $65,991, both for the Department of Public Works.

Sonic gets funds back

In the past, the new Sonic Drive-In, owned by Kennedy 3 Real Estate, LLC, had posted a performance bond of $73,200 that guaranteed that construction would be conducted safely. Pianese said that since the restaurant has opened, the town could return the funds to them. The funds were returned through a resolution.
Sonic opened last month.

New salary ranges

Commissioners approved an ordinance that will allow building sub-code officials to earn a salary range of $18,000 to $79,000 and plumbing sub-code officials and plumbing inspectors to make from $5,000 to $63,000.

Proclamation announces drunk driving crackdown

The commissioners approved a proclamation to the Police Department that announced a driving violation crackdown planned from Dec. 6, 2010 through Jan. 3, 2011.
The program is a part of the Over the Limit Under Arrest 2010 drunk driving statewide crackdown.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.

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