At a February 13th township committee meeting, officials read a laundry list of issues of varying importance with the municipal building they would like to see addressed in the near and distant future as funds permit.
“In particular, the parking lot needs repaving,” Mayor Frank Van Horn said. “Its’s going to be pretty significant. But yeah, I think we need to go to bid on that.”
Deputy Mayor Debra Shipps suggested getting bids the same time bids for repaving the basketball court and walking path at Tunnel Field are solicited. The township is currently moving forward with improvements to the park on Route 94.
Among the other concerns are the windows in the building.
“The windows that have the moisture between the panes,” Shipps said. “There is rotting wood on the outside.”
Shipps said there are also problems with the doors to the building. She said it was difficult to keep the building secure during business hours, and that people can walk inside unattended.
Van Horn said the building’s furnace was an issue.
“It’s been patched many, many times,” Van Horn said. “We might have a huge expense of needing a new furnace, and new heating system. We’ve patched a lot of pipes.”
Other infrastructure concerns include the building’s electrical system.
“We have 18 pages of electrical things that we have to fix,” Van Horn said.
Van Horn suggested the committee put together a list of priorities to get an estimate on short- and long-term expenses.
The municipal building was converted from a two-room schoolhouse, which was closed during the 1970s. Many of the features of the school were retained when the building was adapted for municipal use including blackboards and fixtures such as lights.
