In late July Montgomery Township announced its latest “road diet” with paving projects during 2016, now in various stages of completion.
The township allocated $600,000 for road repairs, including sidewalk repairs. Michael Pitts, Montgomery’s new chief financial officer, says $750,000 was budgeted for this year’s road projects and the number has been consistent, increasing by only tens of thousands since 2013, due to severe winter weather in the past three years.
Township Administrator Donato Nieman said some of the projects required permitting and bidding out, and that took extra time to start them given the local public (municipal) contracts law. Some DEP permits for projects allocated in the 2014 budget cycle had just come through this year.
“We have the joint project with Princeton on Cherry Valley Road. Sometimes these projects are very, very lengthy because of the permitting and some are very difficult to do,” Nieman says. He added that in the township’s 10-year capital plan several road projects were identified, in order of priority, and Montgomery will soon be completing its list of “annual road revisions.”
“There are different degrees of repair. We have just top-coatings or milling the top two inches of pavement, versus road reconstruction requiring us to remove all the pavement down to the base (dirt). We then look at drainage and look at the roads, some of which changed over time from rural roads that have become more suburban. We might install curbs to capture the water at some locations to help maintain the integrity of the pavement, preventing the edges of the road from crumbling. Roads have deteriorated with thawing and freezing cycles, so we had to switch a few priorities. But we could spend millions and be paving for the next few years. We need to get caught up,” he said.
At its Thursday, August 4 meeting, the Montgomery Township Committee approved a change order in excess of 20% of the total project cost for the Bridgepoint Road Overlay Project, which was first estimated and budgeted at $321,694 as part of the 2015 township budget. On April 21 the project contract was awarded to Top Line Construction.
The Committee approved an additional $71,986 as a resolution and in its monthly payment of bills “due to circumstances which could not have been foreseen by the township or contractor.”
Nieman explained the new necessity, “When we commenced that project we discovered there were more problems on Bridgepoint Road than originally thought in terms of quantities of materials needed to complete the paving, and also storm water catch basin work and curb work. Township Engineer Gail Smith authorized the additional work, however because it is in excess of 20% there needs to be a resolution approved by the Committee and that information needs to be forwarded to the state just to acknowledge you are aware of it,” he said on August 4.
Nieman says the engineering staff thought it was important for the Committee to see the quality of the work Top Line Construction had done. Nieman noted that the township received compliments from residents on the paving project.
Nieman explained that the pre-construction meeting for the Viburnum Drive paving project was in late July so it was primed to take place in the coming days.
Also at the August meeting, Committeeman Rich Smith explained that the town’s fire safety committee met in July and a representative from Country Club Meadows (CCM) attended. A few concerns over access and fire hydrants at the new development sites Belle Mead Plaza and Pike Run Plaza, on the east sides of Route 206 and Belle Mead-Griggstown Road. Country Club Meadows agreed to follow what fire safety protocol and arrangements the township enforcement is looking for.
Last year concerns over the loss of parking for volunteer firefighters at Montgomery Fire District No. 1, located next to the planned Belle Mead Plaza, escalated at Planning Board meetings for CCM’s proposals.
Administrator Nieman announced that the Township is still looking ahead to the fire district submitting its application to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a new driveway plan, one that would accommodate Belle Mead Plaza while saving parking spots. Nieman says Fire Captain William Spohn was getting plans prepared from the engineer as the new fire station driveway needs to take shape.
Finally the August 4 meeting featured a closed-session, preliminary presentation by Thomas Perrino, AIA, LEEDap, and colleagues of Spiezle Architectural Group on plans for a reimagined municipal complex. The project is initially described as an expansion, reconfiguration and renovation. The Township Committee along with attorney Victoria Britton, filling in for Kristina Hadinger, and several members of the Montgomery Police Department viewed the presentation. Architect and consultant Edward Rothe also attended the August 4 Committee meeting. Before the meeting was closed to the public, a resolution passed to hire his firm, B4 Development, for professional architectural services on the project with a one-year contract beginning September 11, not to exceed $30,000.