Voters OK Bonds For Emergency Dispatch Upgrades In Howell

HOWELL, NJ — All five fire district elections to bond for nearly $6 million in improvements to the emergency communications infrastructure here have passed, and the town plans to move forward with the improvements as soon as possible, township officials said.

The bonds will fund projects and equipment to ensure that the township is part of the state's Interoperable Communication System, while ensuring that emergency dispatch remains local, said Interim Township Manager Joe Clark.

"County dispatch is an excellent resource, but Howell is moving forward with the state system, and has been heading in that direction for at least the past year," he said.

Due to a technical issue, Fire District 2 will be instituting a different financing structure for the project, Clark said.

The district will have a special capital meeting on Nov. 22 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Adelphia Firehouse, 993 Highway 33, to secure voter approval for the change.

Specifically, District 2 will be seeking voter approval to use capital reserves it already has on hand to fund its portion of the project, rather than securing additional bond financing. As a result, the township will be seeking a lower bond amount for the project, Clark said.

The township's fire districts had a special election Oct. 29 for voters to consider the districts' share of the capital project, estimated at a total of nearly $6 million.

The project, if approved in the referendum, would be jointly funded by the township and the fire districts.

The project would include a new communications tower on Route 33.

The projects included in the referendum include:

• Installation of new radio, paging, subscriber, and computer-aided dispatch systems.
• Purchase of various radio equipment.
• Construction of a new 150 foot radio tower near Fire District #2, at 993 Route 33.
• Shelters at various locations in the township.

The entire estimated cost of the project is expected to be $5.87 million dollars, Clark said,

The township and fire districts will share the expenses of the project, based upon the equipment each fire district and township department requires.

The township’s total share is estimated at $1.8 million dollars, and the fire districts' shares are estimated to be roughly $4.2 million dollars total, Clark said previously.

He added that the township already has about $1.5 million in funds available under a prior Monmouth County Improvement Authority bond issue, and each individual fire district’s share is based upon the equipment needed for the district.

Fire Districts 1, 2, 4, and 5 were each seeking approval for the issuance of bonds of $1 million dollars, and Fire District 3 was seeking approval for the issuance of bonds of $1.2 million dollars, Clark said. But now District 2 may not need to bond its share, based on its capital reserves, Clark said Tuesday.