MAHWAH — The Township Council has agreed to formalize new plans for its DPW complex that will cut the estimated $32 million cost in half and eliminate development of woods next to residential homes at the north end of the site.
Council members authorized a new set of plans to be drawn up by DiGeronimo Architects for the 7.6-acre township-owned site off Micik Lane, after an hourlong proposal last month. The presentation can be viewed on the township's website, mahwahtwp.org.
The council approved a $6.4 million first phase of the original design last October after the price soared from $24 million to $32 million due to COVID-related worker and building supply issues.
Township Administrator Ben Kezmarsky said last month that the council had "put the brakes on the moving train that was the DPW project" in late December or early January.
"The mayor wanted to take another look," Kezmarsky said.
DiGeronimo Architects, who did several other projects for the township, including its Firehouse No. 4 renovation, were asked to do preliminary sketches that addressed DPW needs on a $15 million to $17 million budget.
"We did that and more," Louis DiGeronimo told the council last month.
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The need to do something about the rodent-infested DPW building on North Railroad Avenue, and to make better use of the Micik Lane salt shed property, has been debated jointly and separately for about 10 years.
Former Mayor William Laforet was a longtime proponent of selling the North Railroad Avenue property and using the estimated $3 million to $4 million in proceeds to build a new DPW and recycling center at Micik Lane, which was purchased in 2003.
The township debated having a private company take over its recycling operation altogether in 2012, reducing demand on DPW for staff and space for vehicles.
The council at that time also debated running its own garbage collection, rather than having a private company do it, in 2020. That would have required the purchase and garaging of a fleet of "one-armed-bandit" trucks, increasing demands for DPW staff and space.
There has also been talk of designing the DPW building so it could take on vehicle repairs from surrounding municipalities, similar to an operation undertaken by Paramus.
The DiGeronimo proposal includes none of these possibilities. Instead, architect Louis DiGeronimo presented preliminary drawings for a "flexible" design that would address concerns about cost, environment, and department needs.
"We are only using 50% of the site," DiGeronimo said. "Plus we are retaining all water on site, about 100,000 gallons in underground cisterns, that can be filtered and used to wash vehicles or provide another water source for the Fire Department."
The salt shed will be moved but remain part of the complex in the middle of the site, rather than placed in woods at the north end of the property next to rear yards of residents on Wanamacher Avenue, DiGeronimo said. Residents objected to that part of the previous plan most often.
On-site buildings and cinder block retaining walls will be crushed and used to fill the property for a flatter surface. Parallel parking spaces and wider aisles will allow more vehicles to be parked and improve the building's traffic pattern, DiGeronimo said.
Seasonal equipment and spare parts would be sheltered from the weather in a second-story "storage mezzanine" accessed by forklift. This equipment is now piled outside.
Kezmarsky said the next step is to formalize drawings for another presentation to the council at an unspecified date, followed by rebidding the project as redesigned.
Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.