Morris County proposes $28M in capital projects for 2016

MORRISTOWN - Morris County has proposed spending nearly $28 million next year on a host of capital projects that include a new entrance for the courthouse, restoration of its "Lady Justice" statue, repaving or reconstruction of multiple roads and bridges and electronic and protective gear for law enforcement officials.

The proposed $27.7 million in spending on 2016 capital projects that fall outside the corners of the county's day-to-day operating budget is part of a six-year prospectus of $183 million in capital projects that will be outlined at a special public session of the county freeholders on Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The session, to be held in the freeholder meeting room on the fifth floor of the county administration and records building, will be led by the freeholders' capital budget review committee that includes Chairman David Scapicchio, William "Hank" Lyon and John Cesaro.  Top administrative officials and representatives of county departments, divisions and independent agencies will be present to answer questions and receive public input on the plan.

"The capital budget is still a work in progress," Lyon said. "Right now, it's at $27 million but our goal is to reach $25 million.  If we can achieve that, we'd be able to maintain infrastructure while still paying down a significant amount of debt."

The 2016 capital projects portion of the budget would be voted on in the spring by the freeholders at the same time the operating budget is approved. The six-year plan that will be discussed Wednesday can be viewed at www.morriscountynj.gov.

The buildings and grounds division of the Department of Planning and Public Works is proposing $5.65 million in spending next year at the courthouse, administration and records complex in Morristown, and other county buildings.  At least $1 million of the sum is attributable to necessary renovation or construction of additional space to meet the voter-approved bail reform initiative. Bail reform will involve court and county staff, on a near-round-the-clock basis, available to assess whether arrested people should be lodged without bail in the county jail or be released under certain conditions.

The 2016 prospectus also includes installing bullet-proof windows in some portions of the courthouse, the $611,000 creation of a new public entrance to the courthouse on Court Street, and repairing the Lady of Justice. This 300-pound statue built in 1828 used to adorn the front of the courthouse but was taken down in 2011 when its wood was found to be rotten and bug-infested.

County officials said the 2016-2021 capital budget is a long-range planning tool that is not set in stone but anticipates current and future needs. For instance, capital projects proposed by the Department of Planning and Public Works for 2016 encompass a broad array of expenditures that include a $961,000 purchase of six replacement dump trucks with plows, a $151,000 road sweeper,and $41,000 in road message signs.

The engineering division of the Public Works Department is projecting to spend about $10.3 million next year on resurfacing of county roads, bridge/drainage design and reconstruction, intersection reconstruction, and necessary environmental cleanup work associated with the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital tract and the county garage where the motor fleet is serviced.

Without $9.6 million in state and federal funding, the 2016 engineering capital projects would have been $19.8 million. Some other costly projects may also be bonded for, to be repaid over a period of time.

Deena Leary, director of the Department of Planning and Public Works, said many major capital proposals between 2016 and 2021 involve replacement of aged trucks and equipment used by employees of the roads, bridges and buildings and grounds divisions. Other major costs are associated with upkeep of facilities, like replacement of chillers, heating and cooling rooftop units, elevator upgrades, and roof replacements at various county buildings, she said.

"You have to stay on top of these things and plan for them so that you don't have a more expensive problem later," Leary said.

The Sheriff's Office has proposed spending $822,000 in 2016 -- and a total of $2.2 million between next year and 2019 -- on major expenditures that include gas masks and riot helmets, replacement of portable radios and a replacement vehicle for the Criminal Investigation Section.  The office wants to purchase in 2017 a $36,000 drone with thermal imaging that would assist in finding people or bodies in areas that are not easily accessible to police or rescuers.

Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Edward Crooker, who has worked in or supervised the crime scene unit since 1996, said equipment and vehicles used by law enforcement today is vastly superior to the equipment used 20 years ago. The criminal investigation section of the sheriff's office, which serves all 39 municipalities in the county, responds to several thousand calls a year, Crooker said.

"In crime scene, we used to work out of trailers with leaky roofs and no heat.  We would process latent fingerprints in fish tanks.  Now we have a mobile crime lab, where we debrief, store evidence instead of in our cars. Our work has always been professional but we have better resources today," Crooker said.

The six-year plan includes proposed spending in 2017 or thereafter on a $157,000 surveillance vehicle for the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, a $401,000 expansion of the Sheriff's Office K-9 kennels, and a $3 million theater/auditorium for the Morris County School of Technology.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.