By John Burton |
FAIR HAVEN — “It’s not a matter of want. It’s a matter of need,” said Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli, speaking about plans to renovate and upgrade the police headquarters and community center, and a little further in the future, to have a new Department of Public Works facility.
The Borough Council on Monday night will consider a capital project bond ordinance for about $2.1 million for work to be done on the headquarters and community center, 35 Fisk St.
Lucarelli said of the stone-structure facility, “conditions there are in need of an upgrade.”
There is a need “for new efficiencies,” such as added storage space because, even in the digital age, “the amount of records that have to be stored are voluminous,” Lucarelli noted.
“The biggest problem here is we have no storage,” said Police Chief Joseph McGovern.
The location could benefit from being reconfigured to allow for more office workspace, according to Lucarelli and McGovern. In addition, the department has a female officer but the existing facility has only one locker room. That is something that would be addressed in the new plan that is currently being drafted by architect Grammer Designs, Red Bank, McGovern said.
An important part of any renovation will be to bring the facility up to contemporary codes, Lucarelli said, especially coming into compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). And that would include installing an interior elevator, according to the mayor.
“Basically, we’re going to make it more modern and more user-friendly,” and do needed repairs as well as the upgrades, McGovern said.
The adjacent community center will have some improvements to its restrooms and some other relatively minor but needed, long-delayed work, Lucarelli added.
“Obviously, everything has a lifespan,” said Borough Council President Jonathan Peters, and it has reached the end point with this facility.
The Fisk Street facility dates back to the late 1920s, when it served as the borough’s Fisk Street School, a replacement for the original wooden school building destroyed by fire, according to some sources. Police moved into the location in the 1970s and there hasn’t been any substantial work done to it since the 1980s.
Lucarelli complimented the police department for working with the governing body in keeping the cost down. “They didn’t ask for all the bells and whistles,” he said. “What they want is a plain, simple, new, clean structure.”
With the likely passage of the bond ordinance, Lucarelli is hopeful to be able to advertise for bids by mid-July. “And the goal is to have hammers swinging come September,” though he acknowledged that maybe overly optimistic.
Officials plan on applying for a Community Block Grant from the state Department of Community Affairs to help offset costs, he said.
The borough police department has 13 officers, including the chief, and an additional four or five special officers, according to Lucarelli.
The Public Works facility, 1 Allen St., will need substantial work, likely requiring new construction, Lucarelli acknowledged. Some money from the bond will be allocated to review that project and tentative plans are to move ahead with it sometime next year.
This article was first published in the June 22-29, 2017 print edition of The Two River Times.
