Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • August 22, 2012 Franklin Lakes Borough awards contract for McCoy Road repaving by Frank J. McMahon Tilcon NY, Inc. has received a $195,125 contract from the Franklin Lakes Council for the repaving of the portion of McCoy Road located within the borough. McCoy Road extends from Colonial Road just past its intersection with the Route 287 overpass into Oakland and back into the borough, and reconnects with Colonial Road about half a mile farther south. It is a heavily traveled route between Franklin Lakes and Oakland and is used by parents and students who travel to and from Indian Hills High School in Oakland. According to Borough Administrator Gregory Hart, the project was expected to begin by Aug. 20, but the Borough of Oakland is not repaving its portion of McCoy Road this year. Tilcon was the lowest responsible bidder of the six companies that submitted bids for the project, and $146,500 of the cost will be covered by a state grant the borough received earlier this year. The balance will be paid from the borough’s capital fund account based on an ordinance that was adopted in July. Prior to adopting the ordinance to fund the repaving of the road, the borough council discussed whether to repave the borough’s portion of the road now or to wait until Oakland funds the repaving of its portion of the road. Councilwoman Paulette Ramsey voted for the award of the contract, although she had previously voiced the opinion that, while the road needs to be repaved, she felt the entire road, which extends through two towns, should be done at the same time. She suggested that it might be better to wait until next year when the entire road in both boroughs could be repaved to avoid seams in the roadway. During that discussion, Mayor Frank Bivona pointed out that McCoy Road is on the borough’s schedule of roads to be repaved. He said he did not feel the borough had any choice but to spend the grant money to repave it now. Borough Engineer James Kelly also recommended that the entire part of McCoy Road that is in Franklin Lakes be repaved this year because the project could cost more next year and there is no guarantee that Oakland will repave its portion of the road next year. Kelly explained that there are always seams in paving, so paving part of the road now and the rest later is not a problem. He pointed out that it is not unusual for the state to approve funding for a portion of a road one year and then more of the road in the future, which then results in roadway seams. In addition to McCoy Road, other roads in the borough are being milled and repaved this year based on an ordinance adopted by the borough council in April, which appropriated $450,000 toward road improvements. Those roads include Cayuga Lane, Covington Place East, Crescent Drive, Curran Place, Haddon Place, Windswept Lane, and Winton Gate Lane. In addition, drainage improvements will be made on various streets, including Apache Road. The Franklin Lakes Office of Emergency Management is offering a newsletter that includes information about the borough’s emergency management plan and Community Residents may view OEM newsletter Emergency Response Team training. Visit www.franklinlakes.org and select “Emergency Services” and “Office of Emergency Management” to access the newsletter.