Road Improvement Projects Planned In Brick

This intersection of Salem Road and Glenmere Drive is slated for roadwork. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)

  BRICK – Road improvements continue in the township as a $802,008 contract was awarded to Meco, Inc. of Clarksburg NJ for Laurelhurst Phase 1 and Phase 2, which are streets in a neighborhood located off the northern side of Princeton Avenue.

  The project generally consists of pavement, sidewalk and drainage improvements, curb ramp upgrades, and other associated work on various roads throughout the township, said Mayor John G. Ducey during a recent Township Council meeting.

  The project scope for Phase 1 includes Glenmere Drive, Sunnycrest Drive, Salem Road, Laurelwood Road and Forest Road.

  Phase 2 includes Laurelhurst Drive, Robbins Street, Robbins Court, Diane Drive and Edgewood Drive, with West Drive and East Drive added as alternatives.

The intersection of Forest Road and Glenmere Drive will be part of a road improvement project. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)

  Bid notices went out to 68 prospective bidders, 14 of them requested bid packages, and eight submitted bids. Bids went as high as $1,146,282, the mayor said.

  When Township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin was asked about the timeline for the road improvements, she said that since the contract had just been awarded, Meco, Inc. was in the process of compiling the bond paperwork.

  “As soon as the paperwork is received, we will hold a pre-construction meeting to confirm the schedule,” she wrote in an email after the meeting. “That would be a better time for me to be able to answer this question. We are hopeful he will mobilize and complete the work this spring.”

  In other news, the governing body passed an ordinance on the first reading entitled “Trailers and Storage Containers,” that addresses the licensed placement of trailers and storage containers in non-residential zones, which is not permitted.

  “The intent was to keep permitted uses less intense than many current non-conforming uses, such as construction yards and mechanic shops so close to residential zones,” said Council President Lisa Crate.

  She said that the Township Zoning official agrees with the idea of limiting uses that have an exterior presence, but the current ordinance excludes uses that may be a good fit to the surrounding areas. If the exterior storage component was controlled by ordinance, it would not be a nuisance to residential homes, Crate said.

  Permitting a designated area, and allowing storage, including trailers, of no more than two percent of the lot, would allow for uses that are currently excluded, she explained.

  “Many of the businesses that have been interested in the Village Zone properties are contractors – landscapers and other service-style businesses that rely on exterior storage for their equipment,” the council president said. “This ordinance was designed to provide them with outside trailer space with limitations.”

  The placement of trailers/storage containers, which are not to be permanent structures, requires obtaining a license at the time of placement, regardless of whether they are then being used for storage purposes.

  The second reading and public comment will take place during the next council meeting.

  And finally, Councilwoman Marianna Pontoriero, who has been battling cancer since February 2017, shared that her cancer has returned.

Sunnycrest Drive is part of a section of town that will see road improvements. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)

  “I’ve been very transparent in regards to my ongoing battle with cancer,” she said during the Council comments portion of the meeting.

  “I was fortunate enough, with the efforts of my doctors at Sloan-Kettering, to be cancer-free for a period of over three years,” Pontoriero said. “Unfortunately, my cancer has returned, as it does with many, many people who suffer from head and neck cancer.”

  She said she would resume cancer treatment, which would include surgery, and potentially radiation and chemotherapy.

  “I want to ask all of the wonderful residents of Brick for your prayers and your thoughts for my family,” she said. “It’s a lot harder for the family, I think, than it is for the person going through it. To watch someone you love suffer and go through treatment is extraordinarily difficult.”

Pontoriero has three young children.