State of Municipal Facilities in Caldwell Borough

The State of the Borough of Caldwells Facilities as of December 20th, 2022 Prepared and presented by Councilman Henderson Cole Given that I am completing 5 years on the Borough Council, I thought I would share my perspective on the state of the Municipal Facilities. I have seen and heard two reoccurring questions regarding our Borough s Facilities: 1. How is it that these buildings have all experienced such rapid and unexpected decay? 2. Is the state of these facilities really as bad as people say?

How is it that these buildings have all experienced such rapid and unexpected decay? Actually, when I joined the Council , the issues with the Borough Hall were well understood; especially as regards the water infiltration via the roof and exterior walls. Ceilings throughout the building leaked during every rain, buckets were set out, and areas of the meeting room were blocked off. These issues had been occurring for many years, and no long term solution was ever done. The Parking Deck s issues were also part of the Council s concerns, and discussions about repair or replacement were held. Only 20 years old, it was falling apart. Finally, the Library had experienced numerous water related issues, and in my first year , the Children s Library was heavily damaged but the first of several 100 Hundred storms .

Is the state of these facilities really as bad as people say? The short answer is YES. The following slides are pictures of the Borough Hall s condition. Picture #1 shows the Council/Judicial Chambers. The ceiling has been leaking for many years, and some stop-gap patches were applied, but with every rain additional water passes through the roof, and all exterior walls. The roof and exterior walls have failed. I would expect that wood rot, mold, insulation destruction and other major damage have occurred. At some point a $600,000 estimate was received, but this was for repairs needed to prevent more water damage. It is my understanding is that this work in no way was to bring the building up to code , or addressing the major deficiencies for the Police or Courts.

Picture #2 shows the Police Departments Electronics This building pre-dated the modern needs of a Police Department; including computers, telecommunications and other requirements. The Police electronics on the first floor have also been inundated with water passing through both interior and exterior walls, and as a stop gap , their electronics have been protected with plastic sheeting. Not only would water related outages be expensive to fix, they could impact our Police Department s ability to do their primary job; to protect the residents.

Picture #3 shows the Police Departments Cell The Borough s Police Facility is so substandard that it has repeatedly failed the State s basic inspection. For just one example, this cell is so deficient that Caldwell has now arranged to house any detained persons at North Caldwell s facility. Additionally, our Police Station has never had a sally port ; a garage door- type entrance where a police car with a detained person can be brought indoors. This is a necessary feature, that any Police Station should have.

Picture #4 shows the Police Departments floor sinking away from the walls On top of all the other major repairs needed by the Borough Hall, it appears that the floor is actually sinking. An engineer may have already, or could confirm this. If correct, this would further reinforce the view that the Borough Hall cannot be cost effectively repaired and retrofit with all the necessary features mandated for the 21st century. It would be much more cost effective to tear the structure down, and build anew.

Parking Deck Issues The second facility involved in the Provost Square Borough site is the parking deck. It was erected in conjunction with the Community Center project. That was only a little more than 20 years ago, and I would have expected that it would have lasted much longer than this. I am not an engineer or architect, but the information that I have been provided includes these causes . The location selected was bridging the ground which holds a 6 foot culvert, which carries the stream and storm run off underground. This cannot be interfered with, so the structure s supports had to be designed around it The design included having the top deck as uncovered, and at a height at which it would not be obvious as a deck. With the pre-described culvert limiting the depth of the site, that lead to a low, dark bottom parking location. So low, that later on, after storm damage to the black top, it could not be repaved with normal equipment.

Parking Deck Issues Continued Being uncovered, the Parking deck is subject to snow and ice, and so it requires plowing and de-icing. All this caused decay to the cement and steel. In general, I have been told that the costs involved in providing parking spaces using a deck , are more expensive than if provided directly on the ground.

Borough Library Issues The Borough Library was not part of the original plans for a new Municipal Complex, but additional storms once again destroyed the Children s library. At that point, the plans were expanded to include a Library, as part of a single Municipal structure. The damage to the Library has not been limited to the basement, however. With the basement no longer considered viable, the foundation would need to addressed; perhaps by filling the basement in. All electric, plumbing, sewer, heating, cooling, internet, insulation and other basic services need to be repaired and re-routed. If consideration would be to add a second floor, the entire structure may need to be reinforced. Additionally, elevators and staircases will take up the already limited original floor space.

Borough Library Issues, Continued It may well be that once all the mandatory upgrades and repairs are complete, there would be nothing left of the original structure except the fa ade . Plus, the rebuilt library would be a second municipal structure, assuming the Borough Hall is built elsewhere. It seems logical that building/rebuilding two municipal structures would be more expensive, take more time, and involve more compromises than a single structure. Operating and maintaining two structures would also take more effort and be more expensive; 2 roofs, 2 heating systems, 2 cooling systems, 2 of everything.

Borough Facility Committee Contributions to the Design The Borough s Facilities Committee has been meeting weekly for more than two years and includes representatives of every group which uses Municipal facilities; including the Library. Each have been heavily involved in the design sessions, and the needs of a new library, have been addressed along with those of the Borough Police, Borough Municipal Staff and others. The architects have included each department s requirements in the single Municipal structure design, which has been shared recently at the Council and through a mailing to each resident.

Next Steps At the previous Council Meeting December 6th, a 45 day temporary halt to demolition was granted so the incoming Mayor and Councilman would have an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the result of years of effort towards building a new Municipal Complex. The Council has already approved demolition contracts which include special provisions to save the library s historic fa ade. The fa ade could be displayed separately or perhaps incorporated in the structure, but in either case, it will survive. The Council has also spent many months reviewing possible locations for the new municipal building and has arrived at the location alongside the Green as being the best use of Borough land and tax payer s money. I remain confident that the project as proposed should go ahead, and that this long term investment in the Borough is the best option for all concerned.