Township May Pass on $450k in Grants for Road Projects

The township committee has adopted an ordinance to go out to bid for two road projects but with conflicts arising over bonding and spending money, the committee may pass up $450,000 in grants.

The Department of Transportation awarded Lacey Township a $250,000 grant for the Lake Barnegat Drive project and $200,000 for Laurel Boulevard.

The total cost of the Lake Barnegat project is $465,000 so the township would pay $215,000 while the Laurel Boulevard project would cost the township $155,000.

The township would have to put up 5 percent of the projects in the capital budget, which Mayor Gary Quinn said is already set aside from the previous year.

At the last committee meeting, Municipal Clerk Veronica Laureigh asked the committee to decide whether or not they would move forward on the projects.

Laureigh was worried if the township was to deny the grants, Lacey would not be looked at favorably by the DOT.

“DOT funding may not be available in the future the way things are going,” Committeeman David Most said. “The bottom line is we have a responsibility to the taxpayers as well because we provide a service here and part of that service is taking care of the roads.”

Quinn acknowledged that not everyone is in favor of bonding but said the township may have to bear 100 percent of the costs in the future.

“It’s crucial that we really consider what is at stake here before we just say well, we don’t want to bond because you can’t operate the town in today’s day and age on a cash flow,” Quinn said.

If the township were to pursue a bond anticipation note, the cost would be approximately $36,000 per year for 10 years at an interest rate of about 1.24 percent, said Adrian Fanning, chief financial officer. The fee for a long-term bond would be approximately $26,000 per year for 20 years at an interest rate of 4.75 percent.

“We’re elected by the taxpayers to make decisions. No doubt about it, nobody likes to borrow money and have to take and pay it off. But the reality is, roadways are going to start failing, the infrastructure is going to start failing,” Quinn said.

“If we pull the rug out from everything right now and stop spending a nickel on any improvements in this town, I can assure you in the next 10 years you’re going to have more major problems then you’re going to be able to face economically because you’re never going to be able to come up with the dollars in the municipal budget to do it,” Quinn said.

But committee members Sean Sharkey and Helen DelaCruz disagreed.

“The problem with governments in general… federal government has spent way too much money. Now we are heavily taxed because of it,” Sharkey said. “I don’t think we can in good conscience vote to bond for hundreds of thousands of dollars that we right now don’t have in these current economic times.”

Sharkey agreed that the roads do need to be repaired but they are not in dire need, he said.

“It’s bad government to keep spending money and borrowing money. Is it necessary sometimes, absolutely but I’m just not sure this is a necessary time,” Sharkey said.

Sharkey added that he thinks there are other budget requests that are more pressing, such as a new ambulance for the EMS.

“I campaigned that I will not bond unless it’s something that I feel and the town feels it’s something that’s absolutely necessary to the immediate safety of the residents, and that is a campaign promise I will not break,” Sharkey said.

Sharkey asked Quinn to table the decision until the next committee meeting on Thursday, April 28, so he can continue to investigate the issue but DelaCruz implied that she will not waiver.

“It’s the matter of spending on roads. We need every single cent. I can’t put myself into supporting something that we don’t have the money for these days,” DelaCruz said.

Most continued to explain that the town should take advantage of the grants as this time and if they don’t, another town will.

“It’s not if the grants dry out, it’s when. They’re going to dry out. With the winters we’re having, these roads will deteriorate further. We will not get this money again. I’m in favor of fixing those roads and maintaining the infrastructure,” Dykoff agreed.

Township attorney George Gilmore recommended that the township authorize a bond council to draft an ordinance for the bond as well as bid.

By bidding now, the township will have a better idea of the costs the projects would incur, Quinn said. In these economic conditions, bids could come in much lower than the estimate.

Resurfacing, realignment

The Lake Barnegat Drive project includes resurfacing of the road north of Lacey Road to Easy Street and a portion of Musket.

The top layer of the road is beginning to peel off and there are patch repairs in over 50 locations to slow down the peeling process, Public Works Director Casey Parker said.

Since Lake Barnegat Drive is one of the most heavily travelled roads in town, it takes a severe pounding on a daily basis, Parker said.

The project also includes milling out 12 feet of the shoulders on each side and relaying pavement on top as well as new debris shields and grades and larger retention basins to bring relief to the flooding on the east side.

“It’s a good opportunity to take advantage of that to make necessary repairs and construction to minimize problems we’re having currently,” Parker said.

Many factors come into play in deciding to pursue or not pursue this project, Parker said, but he added if the township decides to revisit the issue down the road, they will never make up the savings from the grant.

“Looking at the aid is a real attractive factor as to why it should be done but all I could do is advise them on the need to do it from the construction standpoint,” Parker said.

Laurel Boulevard is in the same situation. The road is peeling up but the major focus of the project is the alignment of the road.

Laurel Boulevard has an irregular approach to Route 9 and people have difficulty maneuvering at the intersection, causing accidents, vehicle damage and property damage, Parker said.

Resident Richard Bidnick, a member of Lacey Citizens for Responsible Government, commended Sharkey and DelaCruz for taking the position against more bonding.

“With the financial issue that we’re in, I can’t see how we can even be thinking about these type of things right now,” Bidnick said.

“You’ve been saying all along that we have this big huge debt but you continue to make decisions that don’t appear to be that way. My organization stands for fiscal responsibility. We don’t consider that to be a fiscally responsible decision,” Bidnick said.

In a recent “Question of the Day” asked by Lacey Patch, multiple residents expressed their opposition to pursuing road projects at this time.

All but one resident was opposed to the road projects as the anonymous individual questioned, “Should we let the town go to pot holes?”