Work on North Brunswick town hall may be delayed. Here's why
NORTH BRUNSWICK - Despite another setback, the township remains hopeful that a portion of the municipal building will reopen in July.
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s (NJDOL) Division of Wage and Hour and Contract Compliance issued a stop-work order last month to Bella Contracting Services LLC, a Fair Lawn contractor, working on the North Brunswick Municipal Building which suffered significant damage from floods during the remnants of Hurricane Ida in September 2021.
The stop work order was issued March 18 as Bella Contracting Services was installing ceiling grid and sheet rock and performing carpentry, according to the NJDOL.
The allegations against Bella Contracting Services include failure to pay prevailing wages, records violations (inaccurate certified payroll) and unpaid wages.
"Bella is one of the subcontractors to one of the contractors working on the municipal building," Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack III said. "Bella in turn has some subcontractors, who are working under them. I'm aware of the allegations that Bella has not paid their subcontractors and as a result of that, I am very disappointed that temporarily the work on that area of building has either stopped or slowed down a great deal."
Womack said the township has made all the payment disbursements that it has been required to make.
Other work at the building being done by other contractors and subcontractors is continuing, he added.
"We have to get this resolved quickly and get them back on the job," Womack said.
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Womack said the township hoped to be in that part of the building where that work was going on in early July.
"We're still hoping that the middle of July is feasible, assuming this gets resolved quickly," the mayor said.
The Sept. 1, 2021 storm 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.
Some township offices have been operating out of trailers at the site, while others have been moved to other locations.
In October, the township incurred a delay and additional expense when fungal spores were discover in the ductwork of the HVAC system.
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: Work on North Brunswick town hall may be delayed. Here's why
