The Alternative Press

MADISON, NJ –The borough council was in agreement on almost all the resolutions and ordinances at the Monday, Sept. 24, meeting.

 

Councilwoman Carmela Vitale said the senior citizen van, at a cost of $65,925, would be funded through a grant of $31,000 and a contribution from Investors Savings for $35,000. “This is a brand new van that keeps on going,” she said of the purchase from Wolfington Body Company, Inc. Vitale added that rider-ship has doubled within the last year. 

 

The mobile vision system has been described as a safety features for police officers, reducing legal exposure and serving as a lifeline. The borough appropriated $50,000 from the General Capital Improvement Fund to upgrade mobile vision equipment.

 

Signal installation will be used at various locations, with $25,000 appropriated from the Electric Capital Improvement Fund. Borough Administrator Ray Codey said Fairview, Rosedale and Greenwood have been targeted.  Both estimates and installation will be completed by one vendor, designated by the state and Morris County contracts.

 

“We took your suggestion,” he told resident Sam Cerciello, who has been urging the council to consolidate projects, such as pumping stations, with contracts to a single vendor.

 

The council also approved funding for the Cole Park Fountain and rain gardens at the Madison Recreation Center. The Open Space Committee will restore the foundation.  Mayor Conley said in open space matters that the council has the final say, but “we will make sure we get advice from the committee.”

 

Fire Chief Louie DeRosa made a presentation about the return of a 1921 Ahrens-Fox PP fire truck that had been given to the borough by Geraldine Dodge.  “This is a piece of Madison’s history,” he said.  DeRosa said he had researched the matter and learned that a fire on the Dodge estate had burned some of the barns and “she lost her favorite horse.” As a result, she purchased the fire truck for $18,000 and it was delivered on May 4, 1921. “She bought the best of the best,” he said. “It was considered the Rolls Royce of fire trucks with a chrome dome.” When the fire truck was delivered, a parade was held, attracting 10,000 people and led by Mayor Samuel Grover with a reviewing stand on Waverly Place.

 

DeRosa said only 23 Ahren- Fox fire trucks had been made, some located in Passaic, NJ and another in Syracuse, NY.  In 1960, the fire truck was moved to Ashley, Pennsylvania and then to a museum in Nevada. It was traced to a Ponderosa Ranch and finally to Ware, Massachusetts.  The fire truck was returned to Madison “92 years to the day of its original purchase,” he said. It’s currently appraised at $150,000. The truck is on loan for one year. “It’s in beautiful shape,” DeRosa said of a kick-off campaign to purchase this piece of Madison history.

 

In another tribute to Madison, Mayor Robert Conley proclaimed Sept. 24 Frank Iannarone Day for the pharmacist’s public campaign for drop-offs of prescription drugs, activity with the Chamber of Commerce, housing and assisted living attention to drug interaction and working with pharmacy students at Rutgers University. “He helps to make Madison a special place to visit, work and live,” the mayor said.