Sussex Borough to spend $770K on improvements

SUSSEX BOROUGH — The Sussex Borough council will spend $770,000 to improve roads and upgrade surveillance on parks and other municipal facilities after a discussion on June 17.

The council allocated $291,300 to improve Willow Street section II and the curb, sidewalk and fence on Newton Avenue. Improvements already were made to Willow Street section I.

Other improvement projects slated for this year will be Roy Court and the Mill Street parking lot.

Improvement plans for 2015 will include Elizabeth Avenue from Newman Avenue to Valley Road, Main Street, municipal property surveillance and Highland Avenue.

The projects will be funded from the Capital Improvement Fund and reserves the town has raised in past budgets and will continue to fund in future budgets. Officials said some grants are possible to reduce the $770,000 price tag attached to the projects. Depending on possible grants, some of the projects may flow into 2016.

The Council opposed adding new debt to the Borough or raising taxes.

Council President Marina Krynicky reported she, Councilwoman Linda Masson and Mayor Jonathan Rose met with merchants to discuss improvements of sidewalks and the Main Street. area.

As a result of the meeting, borough merchants are forming a committee to possibly hire a contractor to repair the sidewalks in front of their businesses.

The borough will research possible grants to replace the sidewalks.

Rose gave the merchants the option to pay a special assessment immediately or wait a couple of years until funding and possible grants can pay for the work.

The merchants decided to wait.

In the meantime, they will be repairs so the sidewalks are safe. The potential deadline to complete the repairs is Sept. 1.