Final Sidewalk Replacement Funding to be Approved Late March

The decision to cover any sidewalk repairs and replamcent costs in River Edge as part of a shared service agreement with neighboring New Milford took one step closer to becoming a reality as the borough introduced a $10,000 funding ordinance last week.

The ordinance stil awaits final approval in late March before any construction would could begin and allows for the possiblity to cover a portion of recurbing some of the most damaged sidewalks.

"As soon as the funding is available, we'll be in a position to award a contract," Borough Administrator Alan Negreann said. "This is a joint effort to reduce the cost by aggregating our quantities with New Milford."

The borough began exploring the shared service with New Milford shortly after Hurricane Sandy took down several borough trees and uprooted over 50 sidewalk slabs.

Normally, River Edge residents are required to pay for any sidewalk replacement or resetting costs but the borough opted for the one-time move as the damage was caused by shade trees along the residential streets.

"This is an actual shared service," River Edge Mayor Sandy Moscaritolo said.

By working together with New Milford, the borough will be charged $85 per reset slab and $142.50 for each new slab. River Edge has 38 slabs that need to be reset and 26 replaced. New Milford estimated they needed 66 replacement slabs.

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