MANCHESTER – Members of the Township Council voted to award a contract for a redrilling project for Well 5 and the contract will also include improvements to the water utility in the western service area.
Responding to a resident’s question about where the well was drawing water from, Business Administrator Brandon Umba said, “I would need to look into that with the water and sewer department. This is a well that was built in the 1960s as part of the old Crestwood community system that we acquired. It has become silted in and has become faulty so the township is looking to use American Rescue Plan money to redrill the well.”
Township Clerk Sabina Martin said that the township had no Raritan River wells at that time. “I don’t think (Crestwood) had any private wells from Raritan as well back then, those were all (Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer) wells.”
She added that the township was awarding a contract for a licensed water service operator that goes month to month. “We are currently looking into the hiring of an individual to be able to provide that service and that is why we are doing this month to month at this point in time.”
Council Updates
Councilman Sam Fusaro reported that he and other members of council joined Mayor Robert Hudak at a recent meeting of the Manchester Coordinating Council that had the mayor answering questions for 45 minutes “and everyone was excited about things going on in Manchester especially the tower going up in Village VI. The MCC made a donation for the Thanksgiving food fair and from their donation over 200 families received $75 pre-paid cards they could have a nice Thanksgiving with family and friends.”
Fusaro added, “the MCC does a lot for Manchester and they really should be noted for all the work they do with our police, veterans and everything else.”
Councilman James Vaccaro said he also attended the MCC meeting representing the Renaissance community. He noted that the community is continuing to combat the COVID-19 virus and advised residents to take it seriously and to continue practicing good hygiene practices such as frequent hand washing, using hand sanitizer, updated protective mask practices and social distancing to help the various COVID variants effecting residents and employees.
“I can not tell you what to do about vaccines or booster shots, those are your own personal choices,” Councilman Vaccaro added.
Martin reported, “we are rejecting submissions for competitive contracts for the hiring of our COVID testing vendors. These are from out of state I believe and they were requiring co-pays by the town which we currently do not do with the company that we currently have.”
Councilwoman Michele Zolezi said she felt the township got off to a good start for the new year. Echoing Councilman Vaccaro she advised residents “to be cognizant to what is going on and make good decisions to your discretion” regarding the ongoing pandemic conditions. “Also be mindful and check on your neighbors, especially in our senior communities. If you haven’t seen someone in a while you may want to give them a call.”
She noted that the volunteer fire departments had recently celebrated the induction of new officers and members. “We appreciate our volunteers who serve in all our emergency services and our new paid departments. We also work really well here with our police department.”
