Edison Senior Center to remain closed for months for fire repairs
EDISON – Plans to reopen the Edison Senior Center on Woodbridge Avenue appear to remain uncertain, though the Township Council awarded an emergency contract for a new fire suppression system in the building.
The holdup could be the availability of supplies for the work.
Business Administrator Sonia Alves-Viveiros said the contract awarded Wednesday to Allied Fire and Safety based in Neptune will move the project forward, but she hasn't been given a timeline because of the availability of supplies. She said it will take a couple of months for the building to reopen.
"I know it's a little dicey. We are restructuring where the services are being offered," she said.
The Edison Senior Center closed nearly a month ago after a bathroom renovation project revealed that the connection to the fire suppression system had deteriorated to the point that it needed to be replaced. The building was closed for all in-person activities on July 29.
On Wednesday the Township Council approved an emergency $115,000 contract for Allied Fire and Safety to replace the building's fire suppression system.
Councilman Richard Brescher has said a recent reinspection by the Edison Fire Department also uncovered emergency lights that were not working, problems with exit signs, missing components on the fire alarm panel and the sprinkler system turned off.
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The fire department deemed the building a hazard and it was closed.
Brescher said the issues with leaks in the sprinkler system and the pipes had not been addressed for years.
"We knew the system was broken and we didn't do anything," Brescher said earlier this week, adding he wants to know what the township is doing about the other issues with the building.
At Wednesday's meeting one resident questioned how much money would be needed to fix the senior center and another resident asked whether the suspension of the fire chief is related to the issues at the senior citizen building. Council President Joe Coyle declined to discuss the personnel matter.
Meanwhile the township is looking into using the Clara Barton First Aid Center to host senior events while the Woodbridge Avenue building remains closed.
One woman mentioned her senior club had met in a small room in the Clara Barton section which was shared with the Clara Barton Social Club. She said the arrangement worked and everyone was accommodating. She added staff from the senior center arranged for members of her group to remove their supplies from lockers in the senior center to their new temporary meeting place.
Another resident asked the council is look into why, with the center closed, the meals for the Meals on Wheels program have to be picked up in Sayreville which delays the delivery in Edison. She questioned if the meals could be picked up somewhere closer, like Woodbridge.
Senior Center staff have been relocated to the William Toth Health Center on Idlewild Road. The township has plans to expand that facility by 2,000 square feet and rename it the Toth Health and Senior Center and provide programming similar to the activities at the Woodbridge Avenue senior center.
Questions and updates about senior services can be obtained by calling 732-248-7345 and following Edison Township Government Facebook page.
Email: srussell@gannettnj.com
Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Edison Senior Center to remain closed for fire repairs
