At its latest meeting, Haddonfield’s board of commissioners approved more than $8,000 in funds to boost drunk-driving enforcement throughout the borough. The grant will arrive courtesy of the Drunk Driving Enforcement Fund through the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
“This is a grant that we receive. It’s very helpful with our drunk-driving enforcement. I think, unfortunately, many of us know somebody who has been affected by or killed in an accident involving a drunk driver, and it’s something that needs to be eliminated as much as possible. I’m sure the police chief will have some good uses for this grant,” said Mayor Neal Rochford.
According to Commissioner Jeffrey Kasko, the grant is available every year, but the borough police don’t necessarily require its financial boost on a yearly basis.
“As part of the stipulations of the grant, half of the money has to be dedicated to a DUI checkpoint or go towards overtime for DUI patrols, and we’ve opted for those involved in the DUI patrols. We’re planning on having them during Thanksgiving and during holiday time for extra help in DUI enforcement,” said Police Chief Jason Cutler.
“The other half will be used for bringing in body cams for our officers. I have two cams in my office right now, ready to get tested. We’re just waiting for WatchGuard to upgrade its software to our capabilities. Once that happens, the department can start testing the body cameras. If that works out, we’ll use the money to purchase more body cams.”
Cutler also stated that roughly $500 from the grant will be allocated toward updating and upgrading breath sample devices for use at checkpoints.
Regarding the little house behind Borough Hall that most recently hosted Interfaith Caregivers until its relocation in early August, the borough is still unsure of suitability for future use.
“What we found over the last several years is that the building has deteriorated at a much faster pace than we could keep up with. We found foundation problems in the basement area, where it was unsafe for them to remain in the building. So, we had an engineering company come through to take a look at it, to come up with (a number on) what it would take to fix,” Rochford said.
Borough Administrator Sharon McCullough revealed the estimate for repairs was in the range of $120,000 to 140,000.
“We’re still evaluating the site to see which direction we’re going. It will probably be some time before any decisions will be made. We’re hoping if we do fix it up that there will probably be some borough services that we’ll offer out of there,” Rochford added.
McCullough followed by saying the borough definitely needs more space than what is available in Borough Hall, but has to first determine what kind of service would be able to fit in the building.
“We’re looking into whether or not it would make sense to pull some of the police out and put them in there,” she said.
In other news:
- Commissioners issued a proclamation declaring Friday, Sept. 20 as “POW/MIA Recognition Day” in Haddonfield.
- Commissioners also approved the authorization of Booth Mechanical of Maple Shade as the recipient of the bid to provide services to the borough for the Library Gravity Lateral Replacement Project for $38,325. They also approved authorization for American Asphalt, LLC of Collingswood to provide pothole preparation and asphalt installation for the borough at a cost of $914.
