Newton will spend $80K to fix town hall air-conditioning after temps reach unsafe levels

NEWTON — The Town Council approved an $80,000 upgrade to the municipal building's air conditioning on Monday, but put off action on a plan to crate its own auto shop for municipal vehicles.

Approval came on the heels of a heat wave which saw North Jersey temperatures soar into the upper 90s over the weekend. Inside the municipal building, officials said, the building got so hot that workers would have been excused if they were on duty.

Before the council's unanimous vote, Ludmilla Mecaj, a former council candidate, called the upgrade a "luxury," and said the town should "put up blinds" and take other actions to manage inside temperatures.

Responding to Mecaj's comment, Councilwoman Helen Le Frois said, "I don't believe our staff can work efficiently in a building without proper air-conditioning."

Town Manager Thomas Russo said the building is currently served by two A-C systems, one of which handles the council chamber and is newer.

Russo said the system being replaced is old "and we got as much out of that system as we can."

Who pays to replace lead water lines?

Mecaj, and her running mate in the 2022 election, Margaret Baldini, also spoke during the public hearing on a local ordinance requiring property owners cooperate with the town in checking all water lines for lead or galvanized metal. State law requires such pipes to be replaced to prevent contamination of drinking water.

The two objected to sections in the ordinance which provide for fines and a possible jail sentence, for non-compliance. The council's attorney Eric M. Bernstein replied that the penalties are state mandates and the ordinance allows for property owners have the work down themselves and provide the municipality with a certificated letter of compliance.

Mayor John-Paul Couce said that the state is already suing Trenton over its compliance with the law. Newton is investigating whether there are grants available to help cover the cost of replacing pipes from the service box to a property's internal water meter, work that the town is now doing.

The town owns the water system up to the service box. The remainder of the supply is the responsibility of the property owner.

Two seats on the five-member council, currently held by Couce and Councilmember Michelle Teets, are up for election this year. The period for candidates to file nominating petitions is open with petitions available at the Municipal Clerk's office. The deadline for filing is Aug. 22.

Should Newton open its own auto shop?

The council put off action until July 15 for action on creating it's own municipal auto mechanics shop at an initial cost of just under $52,000 for equipment.

Currently, the town sends its municipal fleet, including police vehicles, to a private shop which has been doing vehicle work for the town for decades. However, that owner sold the business and the new owner has increased prices.

Police Chief Steven VanNieuwland said the cost of tires has gone up by 40% and there recently was an incident in which the battery cables in a police vehicle were installed backwards. The vehicle sustained $6,000 in damage and was out-of-service for a time.

He also noted that switching to an out-of-town garage would require two officers and two vehicles for each trip to drop off, then pick up, a vehicle.

Council members had been invited to submit detailed questions to staff, but on Monday they said they needed to study the issue more before making a decision.

The council, which usually meets the second and fourth Monday of each month, has scheduled meetings on July 15 and Aug. 19.

More: Dennis Library in Newton closer to overhaul as county approves funding

Changes to garbage pickup discussed

Following the business portion of the meeting, the council also heard from a solid waste expert, Wayne DeFeo of DeFeo Associates, about the general subject of municipal trash and recyclable collection.

Currently, the town has a recyclables collection on a regular basis, with a recycle collection point open near Memory Park for people to take their own bulk recycles. Residents are responsible for their own regular garbage collection, known as "subscription" service.

Russo had invited DeFeo to the meeting because there was a discussion about whether the town should consider changing a system has been operating for years. He noted that individual property owners are paying on average about $35 per month for one of several private operators to collect their garbage.

The other two options are for the town to take over those payments and hire a collector under a bidding process, or to go the route of equipping and hiring people to run a municipal trash collection operation. DeFeo said the cost of just one modern dual-stream collection vehicle would be about $1 million with a "many months waiting list."

He also noted that in addition to the cost of specialized vehicles, there is also the need for a fleet of at least two rolling carts per each stop around town.

"No matter how you do it, somebody has to pay," DeFeo said,

Although there were several questions from council members, there did not appear to be any strong interest in changing the current system and members also noted that the calls they do get about garbage service are from new residents asking about what services are available.

The town is "blessed that the model you've had for all these years, works," Russo said. Email: bscruton@njherald.com Twitter/X: @brucescrutonNJH

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Newton OKs $80K air conditioner repair at town hall as temps soar