FREEHOLD, NJ – The Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to learn that Allentown Mayor Stuart A. Fierstein has agreed to accept ownership of the Mill Pond dam. They  pledge to award a bid and cover the costs of the entire bridge and dam replacement project as soon as the mayor can sign the agreement formally assigning future responsibility for the dam to the borough.

 

"This is very good news for the residents of Allentown who have been waiting for contractors to begin work on this project," Freeholder Director Barbara J. McMorrow said. "I want to personally thank Mayor Fierstein for his leadership in moving this project forward." 

 

Replacing the dam and the bridge spanning Doctors Creek along Route 524 (South Main Street) will cost $6.2 million. The county is shouldering 95 percent of the cost through its County Aid Program with the remaining 5 percent being paid through a NJDOT grant to the Borough. Yearly maintenance of the dam is about $1,500. Without the agreement, Allentown's share of the project will be about $1.5 million.  

 

"The county understands that many of our municipalities would have a difficult time raising that amount of money for a single project, so the county has offered to complete the project at  no cost to the taxpayers of Allentown in exchange for the borough taking ownership of the dam," McMorrow said. "This is consistent with what the county has done in other municipalities." 

 

Had the mayor not agreed to accept ownership of the dam, the state Department of Environmental Protection was ready to enforce an Administrative Consent Order that would impose penalties of up to $5,000 a day. The DEP also said it would issue an order to remove the gates from the spillway and drain the pond in order to ensure public safety.

 

"I don't think anyone wants to drain the pond," McMorrow said. "Mayor Fierstein should be commended for taking the steps necessary to protect it."    

 

The low bidder on the project is Midlantic Construction of Barnegat Township, whose $6,191,496 bid is below the engineer's estimate. Because the review of bids and award are beyond the normal timeframe, the contractor has agreed to extend his price for a few more weeks.  

  

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