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WEST MILFORD - Plan resurfaces to move some municipal offices
(by David M. Zimmer - Staff Writer - October 08, 2008)
WEST MILFORD - The Township Council decided this past Wednesday not to give up on the idea of relocating township departments, services and programs for added convenience and efficiency.
Not only could reshuffling employees eliminate the need to lease facilities like Hillcrest Community Center, it could improve efficiency and accessibility for both employees and residents.
The township’s Facilities Assessment Committee that was formed early this summer came before the Township Council during the Oct. 2 meeting to discuss its findings and receive approval to continue with its assessment.
Interim Township Administrator Antoinette Battaglia said the committee was asked to look at ways to relocate township staff, provide improved workspaces, make the floor layouts more intuitive, increase energy efficiency and meet federal standards for accessibility for the disabled.
Township Construction Official Tim Ligus said the committee wanted to group several related departments to improve their efficiency and level of service. Consequently, the committee has recommended using the Johner building on Lycosky Drive, already owned by the municipality, to house the recreation and health departments as well as the construction, planning, zoning and engineering departments.
“The intent was to try and get everybody there, so one person as an applicant can come there, apply for the building permit and stay right there within the building,” Ligus said.
Moving some departments to the Johner building would allow for the Financial Department to be relocated to the upper floor of the municipal complex, Battaglia said. This will free up the lower floor of town hall for storage and archives and make the 14,000-square-foot building more compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), she added.
The committee’s assessment looked at shuffling township employees to new sites but did not consider the Municipal Utilities Authority, she said.
This initial plan will move the parks crew from the Johner building to the aging building on the Wallisch Estate, which she said was earmarked for township recreational purposes. From there, the crew can maintain and improve the historic Lincoln Avenue structure.
Battaglia said this is only the first phase of a lengthy project that will next focus on where different township programs can be housed. Looking at all aspects of the department rotation and facility upgrades at once would be too much work for one committee, which needs direction on if and how to proceed with the next phase, Battaglia said. In addition to the rotation of departments and programs, work still needs to be done to determine how to retrofit the Johner building with updated bathrooms, windows and ADA-compliant access points.
Council President Joseph Smolinski said he was concerned about the project’s timetable in relation to the relocation of programs, which the current assessment did not consider.
“The Facilities Assessment Committee has done this excellent job at such a fast pace. If they can keep this up, we don’t anticipate we will have a break in programs. It’s not our intent to have that happen,” Battaglia said.
Mayor Bettina Bieri said that the Township Council’s approval of the first phase does not authorize the committee’s proposed plan to move departments and update the Johner building. She said it would only direct the committee and administration to look into how this department relocation project can be implemented.
Bieri said that instead of wasting money paying for a lease and improvements to Hillcrest, a building not owned by the township, the municipality should update the already more energy efficient Johner building to make it and the services it will house more accessible and convenient for residents.
There is currently $333,000 available for facility improvements associated with this project, Battaglia said. However, she added that if the project becomes a reality, the council would have to find more funding.
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