Page 12 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • March 21, 2012 Franklin Lakes Sewer construction to start in business district by Frank J. McMahon The Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority plans to start the installation of a sanitary sewer main in the Franklin Lakes downtown central business district in April. The plan for the project was explained at a special public information forum at the municipal building on DeKorte Drive last week. The session was attended by about 40 commercial property owners, residents, and other interested parties. Keith Henderson, an engineer for the NBCUA, described the project with a slide presentation. He explained that, in 2005, the NBCUA started a feasibility analysis for the installation of a sanitary sewer to service the borough’s business district. He said that NBCUA evaluated the possibility of installing an interceptor line from the business district to the trunk line in Mahwah and the location of a pump station and force main connection. Groundbreaking for the project is expected to happen soon, he added. According to Henderson, the majority of Franklin Lakes is currently served by individual septic systems and six wastewater treatment plants for large commercial or condominium properties and the Franklin Avenue Middle School. He said the sanitary sewer line will improve the groundwater quality in the business district and allow the Franklin Crossing, Franklin Square, and Franklin Lakes shopping centers, the Horizon and Mountain Shadows housing complexes, and the Franklin Avenue Middle School to abandon their private package treatment plants and eliminate some individual septic systems. He also pointed out that the sewer line will allow for modernization and expansion of the businesses in that area. The engineer said the initial flow from the sewer main will be 88,720 gallons per day, but the system will have the future flow capacity of 225,000 gallons per day. A pumping station will be constructed at the Franklin Crossing Shopping Center, and the gravity-fed sanitary sewer main will extend from that area under Route 287 and the railroad tracks east along Franklin Avenue to Pulis Avenue and then along Pulis Avenue ultimately to connect to the gravity sewer on Chapel Road in Mahwah. A forcefed sanitary sewer line will also be installed from Franklin Avenue along Susquehanna Avenue to Pulis Avenue to convey the borough’s flow to the NBCUA system. Sewage is treated at the authority’s Waldwick plant. Test pits will be dug in late March and property owners who will be affected by the sanitary sewer line will be contacted about the project to determine the location of the lateral line from the sewer main to the curbs in front of their properties. Construction is scheduled to start in April and it is expected to take 15 to 18 months. The $3.8 million project is being completely funded by the NWBUA. The borough will only incur some incidental expenses, according to Mayor Frank Bivona, who emphasized that the system is not designed for residential service and the borough has no plans to extend the sewer line to residential areas. He also advised that connection to the sanitary sewer line is voluntary, and there will be no special assessment to the affected property owners. NBCUA serves approximately 75,000 people in 11 municipalities. The authority owns and operates 31 miles of interceptors, 18 metering chambers, and four pumping stations. Planners table vote on housing complex At a public meeting earlier this month, the Franklin Lakes Planning Board tabled a vote on the amended plan for the affordable housing complex proposed for a 14-acre site on Colonial Road. The property is located just east of the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway tracks and Route 287 and just north of the access ramps to that Routes 287 and 208. The public hearing is scheduled to resume on Wednesday, March 21. Several issues that were not resolved at the last meeting will be addressed. One of the issues is how to provide a safe evacuation method for residents of the top floor of the two buildings as the borough’s fire department ladders would not reach the lower portion of the windows on the top floors of those buildings. Another issue is whether the applicant should be required to install a backup generator to provide electricity to the buildings in a power outage. The board will also consider whether the elevators could be increased in size to accommodate a stretcher and emergency services personnel. Franklin Lakes Planning Board Attorney John Spizziri and Steven Sinisi, the attorney for GS Realty Corporation, a subsidiary of Amboy Bank, which owns the property, expressed divergent opinions on the applicant’s obligation to provide a backup generator. Spizziri emphasized that the municipal code requires the generator. However, Sinisi claims the state’s Uniform Construction Code and the New Jersey Administrative Code do not require this equipment. Sinisi also said the state’s regulations preempt the municipal code. Architect Thomas Barton advised the board that battery operated emergency lighting would be provided in case of a power outage but, when he was asked about the life of the batteries, he responded that they have a two-hour life. Mayor Frank Bivona, who is also a member of the planning board, pointed out that, in the last major storm, power was out for six days. Other issues that must be resolved by the borough council, and would be made conditions of any approval by the planning board, include the compliance of this applicant with the terms of the affordable housing settlement agreement that was reached when this site was approved for affordable housing, the installation of a sewer line, and a (continued on page 19)