BELVIDERE, N.J. — The Warren County Board of County Commissioners on July 23 approved a slate of budget insertions, grant applications and construction and professional-service contracts that county officials say will advance road resurfacing, stormwater planning and other capital and human services work. The board recorded unanimous votes by Commissioner James R. Kern III and Commissioner and Deputy Director Lori Ciesla; Commissioner Director Jason Sarnoski was absent.

The most consequential single award was Resolution 372-25, which the board approved to award contract #WC24120 to Tilcon New York Inc. for the 2023 resurfacing and rehabilitation of eight county routes in Franklin, Frelinghuysen, Greenwich, Harmony, Pohatcong, Washington and White townships in the amount of $5,233,000. The resolution notes final state concurrence is required.

The board also approved insertions into the 2025 budget: a $553,116 New Jersey Transit Section 5311 transportation grant (Resolution 362-25), a $36,116 Department of Law & Public Safety JAG grant insertion (Resolution 361-25) and an additional $125,439.69 from the State of New Jersey opioid settlement distribution for 2025 (Resolution 363-25). The board approved a resolution supporting submission of an application for the NJDEP Green Streets & Stormwater Infrastructure Mapping grant program (Resolution 367-25).

Other contract awards and changes approved included: awarding several on-call inspection contracts to Van Cleef Engineering Associates (Resolutions 370-25 and 371-25), authorizing purchase orders and cooperative-contract purchases for resurfacing and line striping under Morris County coop agreements (Resolutions 374-25 and 375-25), a $122,016.77 final contract for event planning of the county’s bicentennial after a $22,336.77 change order (Resolution 369-25), and multiple professional-services agreements for appraisals and engineering tied to park acquisitions and park improvements (Resolutions 376-25, 377-25, 379-25). The board approved a change order increasing the Wayne Dumont administration building exterior-repair contract to a final $467,849 (Resolution 381-25).

County Director of Engineering Michael Finelli told the board the 2022 resurfacing project is in final closeout and that the awarded 2023 resurfacing contract is expected to move forward after Tilcon’s preconstruction scheduling; he said county staff anticipates work to begin by the end of August with completion before year-end. County Planner Ryan Conklin also told the board the Complete Streets policy and plan were slated for administrative consideration and a public hearing July 28, and the county is finalizing a Safety Action Plan with the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority that may produce follow-on projects.

Funding sources referenced in the resolutions include New Jersey Transit Section 5311 funds, a Department of Law & Public Safety JAG award, State opioid settlement distributions and county match commitments recorded in the 2025 budget. Several resolutions state they are “subject to the availability of funds” or require final state concurrence or certification by the County Chief Financial Officer.

All recorded votes on the listed resolutions were recorded as: James Kern III: yes; Lori Ciesla: yes; Jason Sarnoski: absent.

The approvals authorize staff to advertise for bids, execute grant applications and sign professional-service agreements described in the resolutions. The board scheduled no separate public hearing on these votes during the July 23 meeting.

Ending: The resolutions together signal the county’s near-term capital schedule for pavement work and several planning initiatives; officials said additional project scheduling and state approvals will follow administrative steps already authorized by the board.