JACKSON – Officials say the renovation of Jackson Memorial High School’s field house is still in the fundraising phase and needs more money to move forward.
In June The Jackson Times reported on the fundraising project involving Mayor Michael Reina, the City Council, the Department of Education, the Jackson Education Foundation, the Public Works Department, the Fire Department, the Police Department and a number of dedicated citizens to improve the high school’s athletic facilities.
Given the school district’s ongoing financial challenges, major projects such as the locker rooms, concession stand and showers at Jackson Memorial High School’s Field House have not been undertaken.
Harold Mee will graduate in the fall and is a member of the school’s football and track teams. He said The Jackson Times that the renovations would be a welcome improvement that students would appreciate.
“Tradition is very important to us. As nice as it would be to be in the same gym as our school’s great athletes, we would all feel even more comfortable in a nicer environment,” Mee said.
Council President Jennifer Kuhn reported during a recent council meeting that $30,000 was needed for the renovation project. “We didn’t get the funds we needed.” She said the money raised was earmarked to hire contractors in the area to do the work, and that a GoFundMe campaign was also started. She noted that several levels of sponsorship were encouraged during the initial fundraiser.
“We’re currently at $11,000 and need to get to $30,000,” Kuhn added, noting that labor alone would cost $19,000. “I spent an afternoon at Home Depot looking at all the materials we would need.”
Local resident Patricia Rehe-Muzzillo of the Jackson Memorial HS Football Club said, “We expect to have permits in place to begin work on the kiosk.”
Kuhn said she will “have the permits filled out personally” and she has spoken to a local contractor and plumbing company. “I’ve spoken to the mayor and we’re going to waive all (permit) fees.”
“We asked parent volunteers to paint the floors and clean the building from top to bottom so our boys could use the building. With a school district this size, I hope something can be done to make sure we have the right facilities for our kids,” Muzzillo added. She noted that this “has become a huge renovation and I don’t think it should have come to this. So much can be accomplished with volunteers.”
This happened during a rare Thursday afternoon meeting. The council normally meets on Tuesday evenings. The meeting was postponed until Wednesday afternoon and then again until Thursday afternoon. Even the third attempt almost failed because Councilman Mordechai Burnstein was ill but recovered in time for the meeting.
Council members Kuhn and Burnstein attended in person and Council member Nino Borrelli was called in to the meeting. The three paid bills and handled other administrative tasks.
“There is still a lot of work to be done. Bills still need to be paid and we need to pass some ordinances that are quite important to the infrastructure of our city,” Kuhn said.
Ordinance 26-24 is a bond ordinance for general improvements and includes a contribution from the township’s capital improvement fund, a capital surplus allocation, and a grant from the state Department of Transportation. It authorizes the township to issue up to $3 million in bonds or debentures to finance a portion of the cost of the work to be performed.
According to the ordinance language, these improvements include work at the police department, the building department, and the acquisition of various vehicles and equipment and facility improvements. The NJDOT grant of $370,645 is tied to improvements on Bethel Church Road and includes the township’s contribution of $1,466,473.81 from its capital improvement fund and a capital surplus allocation of $1,000,000. The Section 20 cost was reported at $675,112.50, with the project having a lifespan of 13.50 years.
Ordinance 27-24, entitled “Parking, Stopping and Standing Prohibited at All Times,” prohibits parking, stopping or standing at any time on the west side of North Cooks Bridge Road from the intersection with North County Line Road to 350 feet south of the southernmost entrance on Brookfield Drive. The ordinances will have a second reading and public hearing on August 27.
On the topic of roads, a resolution was passed awarding T&M Associates the contract for the design, permitting, bidding, construction management and inspection of a new municipal road pursuant to their July 18 proposal. T&M also received approval to bid on a drainage improvement program.
A campground license was renewed with Butterfly Camping Resort at 360 Butterfly Road and a change order for display boards at the Justice Complex was approved with Nickerson, resulting in a contract amount increase of $12,041, resulting in an adjusted contract price of $237,240.
