New Hardyston Municipal Center is adding flesh to its skeleton

HARDYSTON-The new municipal building-police complex on Wheatsworth Road is beginning to assume its final shape. Gone is the spare skeleton, as the building takes on walls, a roof and floors. The building should be ready for occupancy in September, according to township officials. Winter weather caused some construction delays, officials said.. Workers can't safely erect structural steel when the temperature drops below 20 degrees for days at a time. Pouring concrete also can be problematic when the weather is glacial. This week, the builders are mounting the prefabricated walls, and they've put in nearly all the roof decking. Within the next 10 days, insulated plywood panels will cover the roof decking. The jail cells have arrived ready to be put in place. The project is still approximately $60,000 under budget, confirmed Township Manager Marianne Smith at an April 19 council meeting. What's more, she said, a change to less expensive lighting fixtures saved taxpayers thousands of dollars. "We've selected a furniture vendor," reported Smith. "Representatives of Business Furniture, Inc. n bfi - have met with most of the staff members to understand what they need. I'll be providing the council final recommendations about the furniture, as well as budget information at the May 10 meeting." Bfi is one of the largest office furniture dealerships in the area. Hardyston is paying cash for the furniture, and thus is saving taxpayers thousands of dollars in debt service costs. Smith said that there are no firm plans for the use of the old Municipal building on Vernon-Stockholm Road. The Hardyston Heritage Society has expressed an interest in using the building as a headquarters.