Proposals to award a $16,000 contract for reverse-911 emergency communications, renew the contract for planning services, and award of a snow-removal service contract head the agenda for the December 17, 2013, council meeting.
The meeting agendas and related materials are here.
The administration is asking council approval to award the reverse-911 emergency communications annual contract to Emergency Communication Network LLC of Ormond Beach, Fla. The proposal was withdrawn from the December 3 council meeting agenda for an unspecified reason. The resolution says the police contacted several vendors for the service, with this company providing the lowest bid for required services.
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Council is also asked to extend an existing six-month contract to 12 months for planning services from Phillips Preiss Grygiel LLC of Hoboken. West Orange originally engaged the firm in 2012 when its planning director was out ill. She has since retired, with the firm continuing to provide planning services. The firm is paid from fees of planning and zoning board applicants, plus additional services capped at $2,000 per month.
The administration is asking council approval to award a snow-removal contract to Grabowski Construction Inc. of West Orange. The competitive bidding process produced one additional bid that the town public works department found non-responsive to specifications. The town plans another competitive bid to obtain additional help.
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The agenda includes four ordinances on second and final reading:
- An amendment to a December 2012 $1.6 million bond ordinance. (The purpose of this legislation is unclear to me, and I’ve asked the administration for clarification.)
- Authorization to pay the town’s emergency services coordinator (the fire chief) a $4,500 stipend.
- Creation of several commercial bus stops on Pleasant Valley Way.
- Creation of a handicapped parking space on Dean Street.
In other proposals, the council is asked to consider:
- A six-month extension of a $29,900 matching Municipal Alliance grant to prevent alcoholism and drug abuse. The town would provide $7,475 in cash and $22,425 in-kind to receive the grant.
- Authorizing competition for funding from the 2014 Essex County Community Development Block Grant program. The proposed projects are not listed in the resolution.
- Distribution of $2,000 in grants to various community groups to provide services to senior citizens.
If you’d like to contact the council with your thoughts on any of these issues, please send an e-mail to council@westorange.org or call 973.325.4155 to leave a message.
I’m a West Orange Township councilman since 2010, reachable at jkrakoviak@westorange.org. I'm a business communications consultant in my spare time.
