COURT HOUSE – Middle Township Committee Jan. 20 held its first work session since March 16, 2020, when the work sessions fell victim to the pandemic and virtual public meetings.
The first topic was an update on the effort by the municipality to bring potable water to Del Haven through a relationship with the Lower Township Municipal Utility Authority (LTMUA).
Cody Stanford, a representative of DeBlasio and Associates, the engineering firm on the project, said the design is “fully complete.” According to Mike Chapman, of LTMUA, that is a major milestone that facilitates the process of obtaining funding through the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank, a preferred funding option to the direct issuance of construction bonds.
Chapman felt the project’s chance of receiving state funding was good, but admitted that the LTMUA would turn to bonds, if necessary. The effort to use bonding as a last resort is part of an attempt to keep debt service as low as possible, since ratepayers would have to cover that debt service.
Given the time needed for the funding approval process, Chapman estimated construction starting “at the end of the second quarter” of this year, expecting it to be a nine-month, “start to finish” project.
He said the plan would be to begin providing water connections as the project progresses through the area. A final construction schedule isn’t possible until a contractor is selected, Chapman added.
