ENGINEERING DIVISION MONTHLY REPORT
DECEMBER 2022

Charles Carbone, P.E., Supervising Engineering Aide

 

LOT DEVELOPMENT PLAN REVIEW

Four (4) initial, single-family, residential lot development plans were reviewed for compliance with Section 110-4 of the Township Code and any applicable Board resolutions.  One (1) as-built / final plan was reviewed, inspected and processed as needed.  All lot development plan review results are entered into the “Spatial Data Logic” system.  The results are also posted for public consumption within the Engineering Division section of the Township’s website (www.westmilford.org) under the Site Plan Tracker.

NJDOT STATE AID GRANTS FY2023

West Milford qualified for the previous submission of two New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Municipal Aid grant applications and one Bikeway grant application as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 grant application cycle for road improvements.  This year’s applications included submissions for a portion of Clinton Road between Passaic County Structure #177 and Stephens Road, Maple Road, and Westbrook Road between Ridge Road and the Westbrook Teen Center, respectively.  The Governing Body approved, by resolutions, the submission of the grant applications prior to the July deadline.  The Township submitted grant applications through the System for Administering Grants Electronically (S.A.G.E.) and uploaded resolutions electronically after application submission to the Project Management and Reporting System (P.M.R.S.).  The requested grant allotment for Clinton Road was $525,000, Maple Road was $567,000 and Westbrook Road was $580,000 while the Township is responsible for the remaining costs, approximately 40% of total estimated project cost application.  The NJDOT has awarded the Township both Municipal Aid grant applications for Clinton Road and Maple Road, awarding $462,340 and $477,040 respectively.  The Bikeway grant application was denied.  Resolutions accepting the awarded grants will be provided to the Governing Body for consideration after additional correspondence is received from the NJDOT.  The grant process requires construction contract award within two years of receipt of the grant approval and local capital budget requests were adjusted accordingly for the awarded grants.

NJPDES TIER A PERMIT

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Water Quality recently updated requirements for the NJ Pollution Discharge Elimination System Program for Tier A permit holders.  West Milford is entirely within the ‘Tier A’ assignment area which results in higher regulation and standards for municipal stormwater regulations.  The updates to the Tier A permit are being reviewed by the consultant Township Engineer to determine the implications for the Township and new requirements.

2022-2023 SNOW PLOWING SERVICES

Final routes and maps were edited and provided to the subcontractors after an internal pre-winter season meeting was held to discuss operations.  The Township contracts for private snow plowing services (trucks and drivers) annually to supplement in-house manpower and equipment.  The Department of Public Works is responsible for snow and ice removal on all 190+ miles of Township, non-Township and private roads within West Milford.  The Township has awarded contracts to five subcontractors providing 39 trucks and drivers for the 2022-2023 season.  Additional maps were created for the DPW upon request and as needed.  One winter report was provided to Administration while information was gathered for subsequent reports.  Subcontractor invoices were processed for the December 15-16 weather event.

TOWNSHIP ANNEX PROJECTS

Bid documents were finalized and produced for the advertising of the Proposed Renovations & Alterations to Town Hall Annex Building.  Requests for Information were responded to and anticipated to be provided to planholders prior to a walk-through meeting of the site.  An addendum was advertised for the project for the walk-through meeting and final date to submit Requests for Information.  Meetings were held with Township staff and the consultant architect was contacted regarding the project.  The renovations project intends to convert the former Library building for municipal office use.  Draft Township specifications for the proposed accessible ramp at the Annex building were reviewed and edited.  Once complete, the specifications will be provided to the grant administrator.  The completed ramp specifications are part of a Community Development Block Grant project and require review by the grant administrator prior to future advertising.

PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

The Road Rating process for the 2023 Pavement Management Program has been completed. Early field inspections have been possible due to mild weather.  The evaluation of the inspections results in the Road Rating List.  The list is utilized to determine annual road resurfacing priorities.  Roads not resurfaced are re-rated every 3 years.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Technical assistance, regarding lot development plans, storm drainage issues, active construction projects, flood zones, right-of-way issues, etc. was provided to concerned residents on 44 occasions.  Field inspections, photographs, reports and/or follow up were required for 7 of these issues.
  • Technical assistance, regarding lot development plans, storm drainage issues, active construction projects, flood zones, right-of-way issues, etc. were provided to concerned residents on 29 occasions.  Field inspections, photographs, reports and/or follow up were required for 3 of these issues.
  • Technical assistance was provided, for various issues, to other departments on 25 occasions.
  • File research, map copies and/or information were provided to professionals on 7 occasions.
  • Assistance was provided to builders, contractors and utilities on 7 occasions.
  • 6 large format map copies were made at $5.00 each.
  • 5 OPRA requests were responded to.
  • 1 Board of Adjustment application was reviewed.
  • 1 meeting with the Township Administrator was attended.
  • 1 safety committee meeting was attended.
  • An on-site meeting was held with a resident concerning engineering issues with his lot development plan.
  • A webinar was attended “Stormwater regulations for Tier A municipalities”
  • Property inspection(s) was performed on one occasion.
  • Rain inspections were performed on various Township streets regarding ongoing resident concerns when weather allowed.  Icing concerns were inspected and investigated as needed and reviewed for potential future drainage improvements, if warranted.
  • Cybersecurity re-cap course was completed for pertinent Engineering staff
  • Two (2) stormwater training courses were completed by Engineering staff

 

CAPITAL PROJECTS

 

CLINTON road – section 4

The Contractor was provided project close-out documents for the project.  The resurfacing of a section of Clinton Road, between Passaic County Structure #175 and 0.9-miles south was completed on September 23rd.  Close-out documents for the project, including core test results, must be submitted to the local aid office within six months of the date of the final NJDOT inspection.  Project close-out is expected to be completed during the winter months, with final payment anticipated to be processed in January.  This 0.9-mile resurfacing project is being partially funded by a $284,000 State Aid roadway grant.

2022 TOWNSHIP GUIDE RAIL PROGRAM

The Governing Body approved, by resolution, a change order to complete additional guide rail work in the Township that was previously identified for replacement.  The Contractor for the 2022 Township Guide Rail program will utilize the Morris County Cooperative Pricing Council contract from 2022 and complete the work when the items are available.  This year’s program has provided replacement of damaged guide rail on portions of Clinton Road and Germantown Road previously.

2022 TOWNSHIP ROAD RESURFACING – Gould Road, Van Orden Road

The major construction items were completed November 22nd with the majority of restoration work and line striping completed in December.  Minor repair areas were addressed early in December.  Long-line striping was completed by the Contractor for the resurfaced roads.  Initial payment was processed for the work completed to date.  Weather sensitive restoration work, such as grass seed spreading, is anticipated to be completed in the spring of 2023.  The resurfacing project accounted for the repaving of 1.8-miles of Township roads.

2022 TOWNSHIP ROAD RESURFACING – LAKE SHORE DRIVE

Final payment was processed for the Lake Shore Drive (North) resurfacing project after receipt of the final close out documents.  The Contractor was advised of maintenance bond requirements (to be submitted prior to release of final payment).  The project provided for the resurfacing of Lake Shore Drive (North) between Warwick Turnpike and Longhouse Drive (1.4 miles).

UNION VALLEY ROAD, GREENWOOD LAKE TURNPIKE, LAKESIDE ROAD, & STAINSBY ROAD – TRAFFIC SIGNAL

Additional quotes were required for the title search work in order to establish the extents to the impacted roads right-of-ways.  A purchase order will be created after receipt of vendor documentation and the municipal accounts are rolled over.