Politics & Government

Township Committee Moves Forward On Solar Project

The site at the Pill Hill Recycling Center is one step closer to becoming a major source of solar power for Bernards Township after Tuesday's committee meeting

The Township Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the hiring of a specialist attorney to assist in the bidding process for a solar power project at the Pill Hill Recycling Center.

The resolution, crafted by Township Administrator Bruce McArthur, specified hiring a lawyer from Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer (no relation to the committee member) for a fee of $225 per hour, not to exceed $10,000 in total.

The specialist will assist in helping the town receive the best possible contractual options in the bidding process for the site.

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Last Thursday, the town issued a request for quotation and received letters of interest from eight different organizations for use of the site as a solar power facility.

"In my opinion... there is a heavy amount of interest out there – everything from sharing [revenues] to larger up-front payments. There are some major players in here," McAurthur said to the board about the letters received.

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"I think this was good news that the site is a valuable, sought-after site. We can create a project up there that benefits the environment, and we can make some money off of it," McArthur said.

Plans for the project going forward are to have McArthur meet with the newly hired specialist by the beginning of February, and to go to bid by the middle of March.

Township Committee Meeting Notes - Dec. 15, 2009

In other Township Committee news, an ordinace was revised to allow for the combination of the committee's agenda meeting with its regular business meeting. The two meetings were being held as one combined meeting on Tuesday nights this year, and the change in the ordinance reflects this practice.

The town also passed an ordinance to create an emergency management council. The emergency management section of the township's ordinances was adopted in 1998, granting authorization to form such an organization. The new ordinance includes specifications for the council, which is to be composed of 15 members, appointed by the mayor, and an Emergency Management Coordinator and deputy.

An ordinance was also passed to add fees for the annual review of commercial backflow prevention device certificates, and to bring the construction code fee schedule into compliance with new regulations passed by the NJ Department of Community Affairs.

 


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