In addition to holding a moment of silence to honor the county’s first female police officer and an old councilman who passed away, there were a number of other resolutions approved on a variety of topics at the Weehawken Township Council meeting on September 28.
Mayor Richard Turner explained the crux of each measure up for a vote at the meeting. One resolution authorized the application for a grant for a portion of a pedestrian walkway connecting Lincoln Harbor Park to the Weehawken Waterfront Park and Recreation Center.
“We are applying for a grant to complete the pedestrian bridge connecting the North Park with Lincoln Harbor,” Turner said.
Another resolution of note authorized the purchase of new scoreboards for over $40,000 through a purchasing co-op by Middlesex County. The township is currently completing construction on its waterfront recreation complex, which includes a baseball field, a multi-use football and soccer field, and track.
“We’re doing a purchase of two scoreboards for the waterfront for a total of $41,097,” Turner said. “That’s through a co-op.”
Budget to be introduced soon
On top of that, the council approved a resolution reappointing local firefighters. The North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue provides fire coverage for Weehawken, as well as Union City, North Bergen, West New York, and Guttenberg.
“That’s reappointing members of the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue,” Turner said of the resolution.
Other resolutions on the agenda involved granting a disabled veterans tax exemption pursuant to state law, a tax lien redemption, and some temporary budget appropriations. The financial measures come as the township is preparing next year’s budget.
“The Chief Financial Officer is working on the budget,” Turner said. “Hopefully that will be done in the next couple of weeks.”
Following the end of the council’s agenda, it convened as the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board. It granted two license renewals, one for consumption and one for distribution.
After that, the council adjourned as the ABC Board and reconvened as the Township Council. After the aforementioned moment of silence for Debby McGorty and Steven Weil, the council then went into executive session to discuss personnel issues for several minutes.
Other pertinent announcements
When they returned, Turner made some township announcements. He started by discussing ongoing road repaving projects.
“We’re finishing our road paving work on Shippen Street,” Turner said. “They’re probably going to move to Jane Street next.”
In addition to Shippen Street, Jane Street is likely among the streets to be repaved next. The township wants to get everything done before fall ends.
“It’s a little bit up in the air, but we’re going to try to get El Dorado, Clfiton, and Shippen, and maybe Jane paved before winter,” Turner said. “But it’s hard scheduling this.”
At the same time the streets are being repaved, residents with lead lines will have them replaced. Turner said this is being done by Veolia, the water system operator that recently took over from Suez after a merger.
“Veolia has a list of anybody that has not updated their lead lines,” Turner said. “As we do the work, they pay for the conversion to regular lines.”
Second Ward Councilwoman Rosemary Lavagnino noted she herself had lead lines. Turner noted Lavagnino would be among residents to have them replaced when Veolia gets to her residence eventually.
“The lead lines will be changed when they get to you,” Turner said. “They’re going around periodically changing lead lines at no expense to the homeowner. So they will get to you… Veolia is a water company. They change your lines from lead to non lead.”
Municipal pool usage rules for next year?
Turner also noted the municipal pool at the Waterfront Recreation Center is no longer open. He said the township will figure out how the pool, which was completed in August of 2021, will operate next year after construction on the complex will largely be complete.
“The pool has closed for the season as fall is among us,” Turner said. “We’ll figure out next winter or spring the full operation of the pool and how we handle it.”
Earlier in the year, Hoboken residents caused a stir after the pool was limited to Weehawken residents only due to COVID-19 restrictions and minimal parking amid construction, the township argued. However, the New Jersey Department of Environmental’s Green Acres helped build the park, leading to DEP officials alerting the township that it must allow all residents to use the pool, which Weehawken eventually obliged.
After some further discussion of things like Weehawken Day and Hurricane Ian, the council adjourned. The Township Council will meet next on October 12 at 7 p.m. For more information, go to weehawken-nj.us.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
