Sparta council ends 2005 on a quick note

Sparta - “Out with the old and in with the new.” That is exactly what the township council did as quickly as it could this week. The council gathered for less than 20 minutes in a regularly scheduled meeting that left a local Boy Scout with, perhaps, the quickest and easiest merit badge he had ever earned. During the brief meeting, Henry Underhill, township manager, said streetscape work planned for Woodport Rd. to White Deer Plaza would be put on hold until state funding is made available, following the rejection of a Sparta grant proposal by the N.J. Dept. of Transportation. A phase of the streetscape project included in the township master plan had just been completed on Sparta Ave. The council also approved an agreement to provide 9-1-1 services to Lafayette for a three-year period beginning Jan. 1. All 9-1-1 calls from Lafayette will come through the Sparta switchboard, where they will be transferred to local state police. Lafayette has its own ambulance squad. Department heads are preparing budget proposals for introduction before the council in January. The series of public informational sessions begin 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 5, in the municipal building. Department heads from public works, health, fleet, utilities and buildings and grounds will make presentations. Budget hearings resume Tuesday, Jan. 10, with presentations by officials concerning the township clerk, engineering, water and sewer; Thursday, Jan. 12, fire, police, and court; Tuesday, Jan. 17, construction, recreation, finance, and library; and Tuesday, Jan. 24, manager, insurance, computer/data technology, and planning/zoning. All sessions begin at 7:30 p.m.