Part of North Brunswick Municipal Complex will reopen nearly three years after Ida
NORTH BRUNSWICK - Nearly three years after the township's municipal complex was closed due to significant damage by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, a portion of the complex is reopening.
The municipal clerk's office, the municipal court and the public meetings area are among the departments that will open on Monday, North Brunswick Business Administrator Justine Progebin said.
Work will continue at the complex and full reoccupancy is expected in the fall, Progebin said.
Phase 2 of the reopening will be the offices for general government services, including community development, the water department, the tax collector and tax assessor's offices, administration, the mayor's office, police records and 9-1-1 dispatch. Those spaces should be ready to open by September, she said.
The final phase of reoccupancy, which includes the reopening of the police department, including police administration, police training and the detective bureau, is expected to occur by Oct. 2, Progebin said.
The first floor of the administration wing will remain closed and is under evaluation for improvements based on state grant funding, she said.
The municipal offices will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.
The project has experienced several delays since the Sept. 1, 2021 storm, which caused severe damage to the Hermann Road complex to sections of the Police Department, main lobby, courtroom, exterior façade and basement where the mechanical room is located.
Earlier this year, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s (NJDOL) Division of Wage and Hour and Contract Compliance issued a stop-work order to Bella Contracting Services LLC, a Fair Lawn contractor, working on the North Brunswick Municipal Building.
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In October, the township incurred a delay and additional expense when fungal spores were discover in the ductwork of the HVAC system.
Some township offices have been operating out of trailers at the site, while others have been moved to other locations.
"I'm very happy that we're going into a repaired and now fully viable municipal building that will meet the needs of the residents and provide a good working environment for our employees, which they so much deserve,” Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack III said.
Womack said the process of recouping insurance and other governmental assistance continues and a final cost to the township has not yet been determined.
"We've tried to minimize as much as possible the impact to our taxpayers," the mayor said.
Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com
Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Part of North Brunswick Municipal Complex will reopen on Monday
