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Emerson council approves DCA-backed stormwater agreement, funds study plans
Summary
The Emerson governing body unanimously approved Resolution No. 259-24 authorizing an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs to advance a stormwater project. Staff said an engineering study could cost roughly $75,000–$100,000 and the borough will seek county cost-sharing.
The Emerson governing body voted unanimously on Dec. 17 to authorize an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs to advance a stormwater project for drainage issues in the Jordan and Forest Avenue area.
Mayor (speaker 1) moved to adopt Resolution No. 259-24 to authorize the agreement with the DCA; the motion passed on a roll call vote of 5-0. Borough administrator Rob Hermanson said the county has discussed the project with its engineering department and wants to put the project on its radar for next year.
Rob Hermanson said the county has offered to meet after the holidays to coordinate the engineering and funding, noting that ‘‘they are looking to put this on their radar’’ and prefer shared funding because the road in question is partly a county road. Dave (speaker 6), the municipal staff member who discussed site constraints, told the council the study will be substantial: "We're looking roughly between 75 to 100,000 for the study," he said, adding the work will gather existing facility information, model different storm events and analyze grades and drainage so the borough can do the project once and do it right.
Council members and staff discussed constraints including a drainage ditch, guide rails and limited lighting in locations without existing sidewalks. Dave explained the guide rail would remain on the ‘‘backside’’ (tree side) of any proposed sidewalk because placing it adjacent to a sidewalk could give pedestrians a false sense of protection and, in past incidents, had led to harm when vehicles struck the rail.
Rob said the borough intends to leverage county engineering resources and that the borough’s funding for the project comes from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs grant. Council members agreed to request additional information and a shared plan with the county before project design proceeds.
The council’s approval authorizes the agreement necessary to advance the project; the staff next steps discussed on the record include preparing a study scope, obtaining county engineering input and identifying funding shares before moving to construction planning.
