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Emerson directs staff to pursue federal funds for firehouse elevator; ranks sewer checks next
Summary
With a tight March 11 deadline, the council directed staff to apply first for funding to add an elevator to the borough firehouse, prioritize stormwater/sewer inspections second, and reserve the Forest Avenue project for later, citing partner funding dependencies.
Emerson officials told the governing body on March 4 they will pursue a federal project funding request for the borough's firehouse elevator as their top priority, with sanitary-sewer/storm-drain inspections second and the Forest Avenue project third.
Borough Administrator Rob Hermanson said the notice for congressionally directed spending arrived Friday and the submission deadline is March 11; staff and the borough's grant writer identified three candidate projects they could submit under the short timetable. Hermanson said the elevator project would likely cost "somewhere between 600 and 700" thousand dollars once an addition to the front of the firehouse is required rather than simply inserting a shaft.
Hermanson also outlined a lower-scale, two-part sanitary-drain option: an initial inspection of drains (estimated $2,000'$3,000 per drain) and follow-up pipe repairs if leaks are found. He said the borough likely has ‘‘well over a 100'drains," which could push that project into the several-hundred-thousand-dollar range depending on scope. The borough already holds a $1 million federal grant for portions of the Forest Avenue work but said partner agencies (Bergen County, Paramus and others) are not yet ready with matching funds, which is why Forest Avenue was ranked third.
After discussion about feasibility and timing, the council agreed with staff's recommended order: elevator first, drain inspections second, Forest Avenue third, and directed staff to proceed with applications and notify the grant program the borough's priority list.
Hermanson said the borough will attempt to minimize direct borough funding for the elevator by pursuing CDBG and other grants if the earmark request is partially funded. No formal binding appropriation was made at the meeting; council direction was to pursue the application process within the stated deadline.
