Lumberton, NJ – October 14, 2017 – The Lumberton Township Committee was joined by State and County Officials to mark the start of construction for their new state of the art Emergency Services building, which will be home to the Lumberton Fire Department, Bureau of Fire Protection, Lumberton Emergency Squad and Office of Emergency Management. This new building will offer our first responders a centrally-located, first class facility to conduct their operations and provide them with the tools they need to be Lumberton resident’s first line of defense in emergencies. Construction is expected to last roughly one year, with a completion date of September 28, 2018. The general contractor responsible for the completion of this project is the Arthur J. Ogren Construction Management Company out of Vineland, New Jersey.
“Today is an extremely proud day for Lumberton Township and most especially our First Responders, because today we break ground not only on a new home for those who volunteer to protect us every day, but we mark a new beginning for them which is free of the fear that their station might flood out on a rainy day like today,” stated Mayor Sean Earlen. “Since our first flood back in 2004 which left several feet of water in our Firehouse on Main Street, Lumberton Township has been working towards this day and now as we mark the first day of construction, we will witness over the next year all of the hard work and planning that was put into making this project a reality,” added Mayor Earlen. “I would like to thank everyone that has been involved in this project from the start and most especially I would like to thank my Colleagues on the Township Committee and our township staff for working hard to ensure that this project fit within our Township’s means, so that it does not cause an undue tax burden on our residents,” stated Mayor Earlen.
For the past two years Lumberton Township has worked with Garrison Architects and CME Associates to design and plan for this new Emergency Services Building. With the assistance of the leadership of both the Lumberton Emergency Squad and Lumberton Fire Department, designs for the new building were finalized and bids were advertised over the summer to hire a general contractor to perform the work of constructing the building. On September 12, 2017, the Township Committee authorized a contract with Arthur J Ogren, Inc. for the construction of the site work and building to be located across the street from the Municipal Building for a total of $5,594,000.
“As the Finance Chair and Emergency Services Liaison, I am extremely proud today to say that this much needed building is not going to have an impact on our resident’s taxes, because this year we saw a reduction in our annual debt service payments of roughly $675,000 due to paying off the Municipal Building and with that savings we were able to fund the new annual payments for this building,” added Committeeman Mike Mansdoerfer. “Due to our strong fiscal management of the Township, we have been able to keep our spending flat over the last decade and this year, through that fiscal responsibility, we were able to get this project off the ground and provide a reduction in taxes to our residents all at the same time,” stated Committeeman Mansdoerfer. “I know I for one can’t wait to see the finished building, to know our first responders have the peace of mind to focus on their mission on protecting others instead of worrying about another flood pushing them out of their station,” concluded Committeeman Mansdoerfer.
