At the Common Council meeting on November 19, there will be two presentations. The first presentation will be by the Executive Director of the Reeves Reed Arboretum. The second presentation will be from by the chair of the Summit Housing Authority. There will be two finance-related ordinances. One ordinance for consideration and a vote is for the funding Summit’s share of the Union County Sewer Authority. The other ordinance for introduction is related to a resolution for funding the resurfacing of the Summit Family Aquatic Center pool and for obtaining design and construction documents for the new fire station. There will be a number of resolutions for consideration, including several related to parking during the holiday season, a flashing beacon for pedestrian safety in the intersection between Morris Avenue and Elm Street, extending the contract for Broad Street east valet service, extending the ridesharing program contract with Lyft, and a few grant applications, including one for an electric vehicle charging station.
To view the complete Common Council agenda, go to:https://www.cityofsummit.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11192018-601?html=true
Presentations
The Reeves Reed Arboretum is an important part of the fabric of our community. The Executive Director of the Arboretum will be coming to council to inform the city about successes over the last few years, level of engagement with the community and other non-profit partners, opportunities they are considering, and concerns they have for moving forward.
The Summit Housing Authority manages the apartments at Glenwood Place, Weaver Street and the Vito Gallo Building. There are nearly 200 apartments in total that are managed by the Housing Authority. Council appoints members of the Summit Housing Authority Board that supervise the staff of the Summit Housing Authority. This past year, council approved the allocation of monies from the Housing Authority Trust Fund to make necessary repairs to apartments and the common areas of buildings. This presentation will be an opportunity for residents and council members to learn about Housing Authority work and the timeframe for completing its projects.
Ordinances
There will be one ordinance for consideration and voting to authorize the issuance of bonds of $1.175M for Summit’s share of the Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties (Union County Sewer Authority). The Joint Meeting oversees certain capital infrastructure projects, as they explained to Council earlier this year, and is now seeking a share of those costs from the City of Summit. The city borrows money from the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank. There will be an ordinance that is introduced to authorize the issuance of bonds to resurface the Summit Family Aquatic Center pool and to obtain the services of an architectural firm to develop construction documents for a new fire station.
Resolutions for Consideration
There are eight resolutions of interest:
Amendment to the 2018 Capital Budget
To address time constraints, council will consider amending the 2018 Capital Budget to allow projects that would have been considered in the 2019 Capital Budget process, which begins in December, to be approved and move forward immediately. Specifically, one project is the resurfacing of the Summit Family Aquatic Center pool. For the pool to be resurfaced before the start of the summer season, council would need to approve the project this year. Otherwise, approval of the contract would be delayed until late spring and delay the project for an additional year. The second project is to obtain a design and construction plans for the new fire station. As part of the Broad Street West redevelopment, the city will relocate the fire station. Plans for the new building need to be developed to ensure construction of the new fire station does not inadvertently stall the Broad Street West project. These two projects will result in an increase to city debt by nearly $1M for 2019. The expectation is for these two projects to advance in the 2019 Capital Budget and present a concomitant reduction in that budget.
Installation of Rapid Flashing Beacon on Morris and Elm
This resolution requests that Union County permit the installation of a new rapid flashing beacon at the intersection of Morris Avenue (a county road) and Elm Street. The flashing beacon will increase the safety of the crossing for middle school students using the intersection.
Parking in Downtown during the Holiday Season
There are two resolutions that will address downtown parking during the holiday season. One resolution authorizes a courtesy notice for a first-time, on-street parking violation. The other resolution is for free parking at 90-minute only spaces on four Saturdays in December.
Broad Street East Valet Lot Parking Concession
This resolution authorizes a contract with our current valet service provider for 2019. The contract has a monthly flat fee, which results in the city being paid approximately $135,000/year.
Ridesharing Contract with Lyft
This resolution is to extend the contract with Lyft for one additional year and to increase the number of participants to 300. At the beginning of the year, there were 1,237 daily trips; by October, there were 1,937 daily trips.
Grant Application for Electric Vehicle Charging Station
This resolution is to pursue a $6000 grant for an electric vehicle charging station on Deforest Avenue. The total cost of the station is approximately $8100.
Grant Applications for Community Development Block Grants
This resolution would authorize the city to submit CDBG applications for an independent social worker, Senior Connection bus, Share the Fun Club, and bathtub conversions for accessibility at the Vito Gallo senior building.
Next Council Meeting: Tuesday, December 4 at 7:30PM.