Politics & Government

Borough Makes Road, Sewer Projects a Priority in 2012

Infrastructure leads project planning.

Madison’s roads and sewers will get much-needed upgrades as part of a priority list of paid-for capital projects in 2012.

As far as roadway resurfacing and reconstruction, “[The borough has] already funded Academy Road, and the resurfacing of Pine, Beech, Cedar and Rose [avenues],” said Borough Administrator Ray Codey. The streets are among those most needing repair.

“Woodland Road, Phase 2, also already funded, will be done in 2012,” Codey said. Green Avenue, also funded, is on the to-do list this year. Contractor bids for that are due Feb. 2 at .

“That is a total of $2 million in funded road projects,” Codey said.

Capital projects and other costly infrastructure spending are front and center as Codey and other borough officials begin work on the 2012 municipal budget.

Appropriations for this year's street and sewer repairs were proposed and voted on by Borough Council in 2011.

Capital spending is a regular component of the budget each year, said Codey, who explained that the borough wants to focus on year-to-year projects. “One year we install a water main, the next we fix the road, the next we install curbing and so on.”

He said the borough is reviewing on a regular basis all of the capital projects.

“There are competing demands and there is a limited pot of money,” he said. “Our demands exceed our available resources. Infrastructure needs a lot of attention; there are portions of the sewer that are over 100 years old.”

Officials want to get back to a schedule of annual sewer lining projects, called sliplining. Aging pump houses are also in need of attention.

The North Street pump station has $450,000 in capital funding in place for that, said Codey, who met with engineering consultants CDM to discuss fast-tracking the project in 2012.

Said Codey, “All of the pump stations could use modernization — West End, Candlewood, Treadwell. We would like them to be in better condition. They need attention.”

Project funding is expected to get a boost as the borough wraps up construction of the $3.5-million Madison Recreation Center and its synthetic turf playing fields.

Codey noted that the budget this year would include a $500,000 transfer to the General Capital Fund, and an additional $250,000 available from the sale of the Orchard Street property to the Housing Authority. “That’s $750,000 for capital projects in 2012 compared to zero in 2011,” he said.

As for “new” money from the General Capital Improvement Fund — the catch-all fund for capital projects — Codey said new sewer infrastructure would be at the top of the list.

Codey said that Madison’s projects are “three to four times the size of capital projects of surrounding towns” — and part of what helps make the Rose City a desirable address.

Among other capital-intensive departments, the Electric Department has $1.6 million “unencumbered” that’s available, if needed. Codey said that the borough’s two substations are in excellent shape.

The Water Department has $700,000 in its capital fund. Codey said that 90% of the Madison’s water main system has been replaced already.

“What we have,” Codey said, “is way too many potholes, way too many repairs needed for roads.”

Codey said that the borough plans to test microsurfacing in which a thinner coat of asphalt is applied to roadways, at one-tenth the cost of traditional milling and overlay.


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