EMERSON—Borough officials said they hoped to obtain no less than $199,000 from an unused pool of Community Development Block Grant funds to allow them to install an elevator at the firehouse so voters can access an election polling place on the second floor.
Administrator Rob Hermansen said Sept. 19 that the borough sent in a grant application for the CDBG funds and that it was possible they may be awarded up to $250,000.
Mayor Danielle DiPaola said schools prefer not to host the voting machines, and there are security concerns with voters having access to schools during elections, officials said. She said there would be no change in polling places for the Nov. 7 General Election. “You should vote wherever you have voted for the last couple of years.”
Hermansen said the architect and engineer have prepared an estimate for the elevator project. Engineer Dave Arkinson, Neglia Engineering, said the “most practical, most conducive” location for an elevator at the firehouse is a shaft outside the building.
A new elevator will also allow senior firefighters unable to climb stairs to access meetings on the second floor of the firehouse, said the mayor.
Unpaid legal bill noted
In a brief update, Borough Attorney John McCann said that Atkinson told him that the redeveloper, Emerson Redevelopers Urban Renewal (ERUR), had unpaid invoices of approximately $17,000 owed to Neglia Engineering, dating back to services provided in December 2021.
McCann publicly asked the redeveloper to please pay his bills, noting the chief financial officer said the redeveloper got quarterly billings
He said the engineer reviewed stormwater plans, and performed site inspections, among other services. McCann said he asked the redeveloper to pay his bills. McCann said he would alert the redeveloper to the fact that “they’re [Neglia] not going to sit by and watch that any longer.”