Mayor Proposes Temporary Garage Solution

After weeks of discussion, the city decided to propose to temporarily move its vehicles to Clinton Street between 15th and 16th Streets and outsource the maintenance to a Hoboken based company, while waiting for closing date on the current municipal garage, Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced Friday afternoon. 

City Council will have to vote on this during the July 14 meeting. A resolution on that meeting's agenda will ask to authorize that closing of that street for the city's vehicles.

Moving to a new location, Zimmer said, would mean the city would have to spend between $100,000 and $200,000 equipping a new building, not knowing how long the temporary location would be needed. 

The mayor said the administration is still comparing different companies, and didn't say to whom the maintenance will be outsourced. Because the city does not expect to spend more than $36,000 (the bidding threshold) for this temporary solution, Zimmer said, there will not have to be a public bidding process. Zimmer said she's aiming to move out of the current garage on Observer Highway by August 1. 

If developer S. Hekemian Group doesn't close on Aug. 13, the city will have to buy back the garage with the $16 million bond it approved on during a recent council meeting. If the city moves into a property before that date, it could end up owning two properties. If Hekemian does close on Aug. 13, it could leave the city without a property at all.

Before the Aug. 13 closing date, the city has to fulfill its environmental requirements and get a "no further action" letter from the Department of Environmental Protection. Zimmer has said she is pushing for this to happen as quickly as possible, and Director of Environmental Services Jennifer Maier has assured city council that the city will meet that deadline. Still, it's unclear if the city will be ready in time.  

If the city can't meet its end of the deal—and thus defaults on the deal with Hekemian—it will lose the $2.55 million deposit it received from the developer. 

According to a release sent out by Spokesman Juan Melli Friday afternoon, the city "has decided to outsource all maintenance of its vehicles for 60 days until the status of the existing municipal garage site is clear on the planned closing date."

Zimmer, in cooperation with members or her administration, presented two options to City Council during last week's meeting. Although everybody seemed to prefer the option of moving into a 16th Street property in Jersey City, that plan was taken off the table because of strong opposition from Jersey City Mayor Jerramaiah Healy.