River Edge Looks to Move Forward on Several Projects

While waiting for work to begin on the  to and the , River Edge is also looking forward to additional projects in town including replacement bus shelters and ADA compliant doors. The borough is also in the midst of narrowing down the list of potential Community Development Block Grant applications.

Community Development

With an October 5 deadline looming to submit the , River Edge will have to choose three out of five possiblities in hopes of receiving funding.

Among the suggestions, according to Borough Administrator Alan Negreann, are installing curbs and sidewalks on Oxfort Terrace and Rutgers Place, , senior citizen activities, a senior bus dispatcher and senior bus driver.

Currently, River Edge is waiting on cost estimates for the curb and sidewalk project from borough engineer Robert Costa. And replacing the senior bus is still up in the air as the current 2010 Ford bus carries 49 passengers a week. 

The former 2001 Ford bus was primarily purchased through a Community Development Block Grant for $48,000 with the borough contributing a portion of funds. But after years of poor maintenance, the original bus was auctioned off in "as is" condition following the discovery that the frame and chassis had major rust issues.

Previously River Edge has submitted applications for the ,  including SCORE, an  at the , and  to the . The borough has received an estimated $14,500 for the bus driver's salary and $4,300 for the dispatcher's. The overall driver's salary is approximately $30,000 and the dispatcher receives $10,000 annually.

ADA Doors

In some cases, the third time truly is the charm to achieve goals or advance a project. If all goes well for River Edge, a third attempt at bidding for a contractor to install new ADA complaint doors at  and the .

During the , nine vendors expressed interest in reviewing the bid packet but ultimately none submitted a proposal. The first time the borough went out to bid for the project, the specifications not only included the doors but the masonry component as well to replace the door frames. When there were zero responses, the second bid separated the two items but once again returned with no responses.

River Edge then sought clarification as how to best proceed as the $26,000 funding was supplied from a Community Development Block Grant. The borough was recently informed that due to past practices, the borough should go out for bids one final time for the entire project and if that in turn fails, could then look into negotiating with a contractor on their own.

NJ Transit Bus Shelters 

With a maintenance agreement between River Edge and NJ Transit waiting on final approval, commuters will soon be one step closer to having new shelters to protect them from the elements. 

The five shelters, which would be maintained by DPW employees, are expected to be similar to the current standing shelters but come in a dark green color. 

Final approval on the agreement with NJ Transit is expected in early September. 

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