Dredging Contract Awarded in Avalon

AVALON – Borough Council passed six resolutions Oct. 22 related to the soon-to-commence dredging project. One of those resolutions accepted the bid of Mobile Dredging and Pumping Co. of Chester, Pa. It was a week of intense effort by Avalon officials who were surprised that they received only one bid for the project and that the bid had come in over estimate.
A series of meetings and conference calls, reworking of figures, a beneficial partnering with a state agency, and hard work by officials and their engineering consultants from Hatch Mott MacDonald resulted in approval to move ahead.
Project timing, given restrictions, which winter flounder season place on dredging, has been a primary concern from the start.
Another of the resolutions authorized the borough to enter an agreement with the state Department of Transportation establishing a partnership that will help offset costs. NJDOT will contribute a portion of the total costs of the project and the borough will extend the scope of the effort to include dredging certain channels owned by the state and also permit deposit of dredge spoils from state-owned channels to be deposited on a borough-owned confined disposal facility.
Council approved agreements with Hatch Mott MacDonald to provide construction phase engineering services and to perform pre-dredge and post-dredge surveys of individual private slips to satisfy the requirements of federal and state permits. Property owners wishing to participate in the dredging of their private slips under permits issued by the borough will pay a $300 fee for surveys and execute release and access agreements.
Completion of Princeton Harbor remains the goal of phase one, the part of the effort that can be accomplished before the start of the flounder season Jan. 1. There was some skepticism that the contractor can get up and running with all needed equipment and still hit that goal.
Costs for the construction phase are approximately $3.5 million with the borough to pay $1.9 million, Middle Township $400,000 and NJDOT $1.2 million.
Waterways to be dredged include: Princeton, Cornell, Pennsylvania harbors, Third Avenue Waterway, Avalon Canal, 54th Street Marina, Oler’s, Graven’s Thoroughfare (state channel), Long Reach (state channel), Whale Harbor (state channel), and Sterbeck Harbor (Avalon Manor, Middle Township).
Material will be dredged out to a depth of six feet below mean low water.
New Ordinances
Council repealed an earlier ordinance that had established a curfew for individuals under the age of 18 saying that repealing the curfew was in the “best interest” of Avalon. Also receiving final approval was an ordinance establishing a set of increasing penalties for noise violations that are not brought under control after initial order from police or any code enforcement officer.
A resolution representing a range of alteration to the borough’s housing and rental regulations was presented in an amended version of the chapter 22 of the borough code. The resolution passed for introduction and will next come up for final approval. This was a result of extensive review of current regulations and persistent issues related to rental properties.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.