SWEDESBORO — The bill for this year’s public works projects continues to add up, as Mayor Tom Fromm informed the Swedesboro Council of new urgent projects, and others taking longer than anticipated.
At the regular council meeting on Aug. 17, Fromm said the borough will move forward with a $180,000 proposal to remediate one of three water tanks used in its water treatment facility.
At last month’s regular council meeting, Fromm informed the council that the borough’s plant currently uses four tanks for water filtration, three of which were described as being in “antique” condition. Of those three, one is in need of immediate remediation for its sand filter media, with the others also needing eventual repair.
Fromm said that under state law, the borough is allowed to move forward with the proposal prior to public hearing or council review, due to the urgent nature of the project in its ability to supply water to the community.
“We’re working with the contractor right now,” Fromm said. “They’re trying to squeeze us in as fast as possible, and it might be a month or two given their other projects. Definitely, at the latest, early fall.”
Fromm said that the borough will also be getting a quote to repair the two additional tanks in 2027.
The commissioning of additional water-related projects continued, as Fromm also informed the council of an upcoming proposal with Aqua to install an interconnection line at Center Square Road. The interconnection would supply an emergency water line should the borough ever need access to a supply.
“We’ve been talking about it for a pretty long time,” Fromm said. “It’s just time to do it with the growth in the community. There have been a couple instances within the last year-and-a-half where we had issues in losing use of the water tower. I’ve been convinced now that it’s something we really need to get done.”
Fromm said that Aqua will be directing the project, providing engineering services and other contractors. The borough will share the final cost of the line with Aqua.
While the borough’s water tower will be undergoing refurbishment before the end of the year as part of its contract with inspectors, Fromm said that the regular 10-year maintenance of the tower was not the catalyst for the interconnection line at this time.
In ongoing project updates, Fromm reported that the Glenn Echo Park project is continuing, albeit Gloucester County’s additional requirements for the driveway entrance.
“The county is having us make sure we have a wide enough driveway on to Glenn Echo Avenue, which is a County Road, then they’ve got some stuff we have to do with formalizing an easement on both sides with each property owner,” Fromm said. “So, we have to get together and get that done. It’s nothing of great significance. It’s just more time and more money that we’re spending on engineering and legal just to get it done.”
Fromm said that the plan for the park remains to install a permanent pier and kayak launch, and that “hopefully” they’ll be able to restore the boat launch.
While the borough intends to both commence with the urgent projects and continue its ongoing ones, the final costs have yet to be realized. With a “good” portion of the money for the Glen Echo project “used”, Fromm did not leave out the possibility of needing additional funds to address these initiatives.
“We might lump it all at some point into a bond where we borrow some money to finish these projects, but we’re not there yet,” Fromm said. “We’ll see what happens.”
By Ethan Stoetzer
