Borough Council Seeks Road Upgrades, Use of $290,000 Grant

Parking lot and road improvements were the subject of a few different agenda items at the Hightstown Borough Council meeting on Monday.  

The resolution to revise the plans for the Memorial Parking Lot passed, and  the entrance will be made wider when they repave the parking lot.  

Borough Engineer Carmela Roberts said that the project is expected to start mid-May, but expressed to the board that she would like to have the work started by the end of April.  

The entire process should only take a couple days and will force the lot to close for a short time while work is being completed.

The reason for the work, Roberts explained, is because there is not enough space in the entryway to the lot, but if people are not accustomed to the turn, they are likely to hit the curb.  She then recommended the change saying that people will have more comfort and ease maneuvering in and out of a wider space.

Roberts said that the proposed revision stemmed from the concern over whether there is adequate room for entrance and exit to the lot and the revision would be to expand the entryway.  

The revision would remove a small piece of the curb so that the entryway would still remain somewhat narrow and keep speeds down.

 Council members expressed concern about trucks getting into the parking lot.  Roberts explained that garbage, delivery and fire trucks can enter from the rear entrance.  The parking lot was set up so that they must leave through that same entrance.  It was also explained that the trucks are able to get to any point of access in the lot.

Council President Isabel McGinty said although there is plenty of room for two vehicles, while one is entering and one exiting, tires often hit the concrete curb. She said that the planning board had no objections to the revision and that she felt it would be a good modification.

After authorizing the change to the Memorial Parking Lot improvements, there was discussion about the $290,000 grant for milling and paving of some roads that Hightstown received from the New Jersey Department of Transportation.   The estimate for the proposed plan came in at $378,000, which is nearly $88,000 higher. 

Roberts explained that the council had two options.  The first option would be to fund the difference. The second would be for the council to reduce the scope of the proposal by removing curb and sidewalk modifications.  

Roberts then suggested the idea of keeping the plan and looking for new bids since prices are dropping and a competitive bid could allow them to continue with the entire project.

The borough would have to reward the contract by next spring. 

If the borough did not get a lower bid on the plan it could end up being out more than $25,000 to finish funding the project.

The mayor and council decided to postpone the discussion but Roberts explained that she would need an answer from council on the matter soon, before NJDOT releases their 2012 grant applications.