Politics & Government

Eatontown Could Award Bid For Husky Brook Park Improvements in June

Improvements will be advertised for bidding next week

 

The Eatontown Council has settled on a design for the second phase of improvements for Husky Brook Park and the next step is to find contractors to handle the work.

Borough Engineer Ed Broberg presented the plans to the council on Wednesday night and said he hopes to advertise the project for bidding by next week and award a bid in June.

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The council agreed that the cost of the improvements is not to exceed $250,000. Mayor Gerald Tarantolo has said the money for the project has already been secured and a current bond ordinance would cover the cost of the improvements.

Phase 1 of the park, located at the intersection of Route 36 and Grant Avenue in Eatontown, was completed over a year ago.

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The second phase will include a metal gazebo, a tot lot with playground equipment, a walking trail, additional landscaping and parking lot improvements.

A buffer fence that would help protect the park from garbage and form a barrier between it and Route 36, could also be part of the plan.

The council has decided to bid the fence and walking as alternates, and vote to approve the projects depending on their cost to the borough.

Broberg said the most "cost-effective" way to bid the project is to get state contractors to build the tot lot and its surface and have a separate contractor do the rest of the work.

"It could be 20 percent cheaper to do it this way," Broberg said.

Broberg said all of the work would be overseen by the general contractor, who would coordinate his efforts with the state contractors constructing the tot lot and its surface.

Some councilmembers said they felt the walking trail was located too close to Route 36.

Broberg said the design for the walking trail is limited because it is near the Capilupi Farm property, and that the borough cannot cross the property line.

"We will keep it as far away from Route 36 as possible," Broberg said.

Broberg said the trail would be made with wood chips and not be paved.

Broberg has suggested that the walkway should be constructed as a volunteer or Eagle Scout project. He said some preliminary cleanup work would need to be done by the Eatontown Department of Public Works to clear some brush and fallen sheds in the area, but the majority of the project could be done by volunteers.


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