Municipal complex bond ordinance passes on final reading

By Gretchen van Nuys
BYRAM —The Byram Township Council voted to approve a bond ordinance to finance a new municipal complex during its meeting on Tuesday night despite receiving push-back from some residents during the public hearing portion. The ordinance, which was first introduced at the council’s July 5 meeting, is to appropriate $11 million and to authorize the issuance of $10.45 million in bonds or notes of the township.
The township’s current plan is to construct a new municipal building across the parking lot from the existing building on Mansfield Drive, which would remain open for business during construction, said Township Manager Joseph Sabatini in a telephone interview before Tuesday’s meeting. Sabatini said that the Department of Environmental Protection will need to be involved during the planning phase because Lubbers Run, Byram’s longest stream, is on the property.
Sabatini said that the township had looked at other sites and had considered renovating and converting other buildings to use as the municipal building, but that nothing had made as much sense as constructing a new building on the Mansfield Drive property. “Lots of due diligence has been done; investing in existing structures is not a wise decision,” Sabatini said, explaining that the largest part of the existing municipal building is a pair of modular trailers installed in the 1970’s, with a fake façade. “It makes it impossible to salvage that part of the building.”
Sabatini said that the $11 million figure was based on estimated costs plus the possibility of changes.
“We’re working off preliminary estimates of about $8.5 million, based on concept designs presented to the Town Council. Based on estimated costs with the possibility of changes, you’re allowed to go up 20%, which gives us $11 million,” he said, adding, “Nothing has been authorized and nothing has been approved. We hope it won’t come close to $11 million. As we move forward, we will get a better scope regarding cost.”
Sabatini expects the project will be authorized in September and will go out for bidding by architecture firms, and in April or May it will go out for public bidding.
“That’s when we’ll learn what the actual scope will be,” he said. The construction process is expecting to last for one and a half to two years.
During the public hearing section of Tuesday’s meeting, several township residents voiced opposition to the idea of going into $11 million debt.
Bela Jaros said, “Sussex County has the dubious distinction of being one of the highest five counties in New Jersey for foreclosures. The idea for this building started to germinate five years ago and at that point it seemed like a good idea. But is this a good idea now? I think this project has all the need in the world, but I think it should be shelved and revisited down the road, in the next three to ten years.”
Another resident, Harvey Roseff, said to the council, “You are giving yourselves the right to spend up to $11 million if you choose to do so. The proper way to go here is a referendum.”
“I’m not ecstatic about the prospect of getting a new building because of the cost – I’m a tax-payer too – but it seems more cost-effective to build,” said Byram Township Councilman David Gray in response to Roseff. “Things are starting to go in this building, and when they do, it will cost way more. I’m not opposed to a referendum, especially for debt issues, but I think it would be better on the draw-down rather than on the ordinance.”
Eskil S. "Skip" Danielson, retired Byram police chief, told the Council that the modules had been fine originally, but that they were only meant to last for five years when they were installed in the 1970’s, and that they now pose a fire threat.
“They weren’t intended to have a computer and phone on every desk. They need to be replaced,” he said. “I think you’ve got to do something; I’m all in favor of it being done. But it has to be done frugally. I think if we’re looking to have something functional, fireproof and within our pockets, I think we can do it, but we have to do it frugally.”
Sabatini said, “This building is inadequate; we need to create a safe environment for the township’s employees. The public will have plenty of opportunity to engage in this process. The next step in the process is to get funding in place. Until that gets done, we can’t even talk about what the cost of this project will be.”
After the public hearing closed, the council voted to pass the ordinance.
Sabatini said that the Township Council had held a public meeting on June 21 in order to present its various options, with a large group of people attending and asking questions. All of the documents shared at that meeting, including the master plan options, cost estimate options, environmental analysis, and timeline summary, are available for review on the township’s website, Byramtwp.org.