Princeton officials are going shopping.
The Princeton Council recently approved a $14.1 million bond ordinance that provides money to purchase equipment for various departments – from the police department to the recreation department and even the Princeton Public Library, which it supports.
The bond ordinance earmarks $224,000 to update the Princeton Police Department’s body-worn cameras and in-car cameras; sirens and emergency lights for patrol cars; and tasers, which will provide police officers with another way to handle violent offenders.
The Recreation Department is in line to receive $2.5 million for upgrades and improvements for a redesigned Community Park South, plus the purchase of trash and recycling containers for various municipal parks. Park benches and picnic tables also will be replaced.
There is $189,000 to buy a mason dump truck and a pickup truck, both with snow plows, for the Recreation Department’s maintenance division. A maintenance landscaper trailer also may be purchased.
At the Princeton Public Library, $105,000 is being allocated to buy new furniture and equipment, including new children’s furniture. Technology and technology infrastructure and upgrades totaling $331,000 will be made.
The bond ordinance earmarks $2 million for infrastructure repairs and replacements to various roads, such as Alexander Street and The Great Road. It includes a New Jersey Department of Transportation grant for $818,000 for traffic calming measures on North Harrison Street, from Nassau Street to Franklin Avenue.
There is money to install rectangular rapid flashing beacons to mark pedestrian crosswalks on Route 206 at Mansgrove Road and on Route 206 at Herrontown Road, plus traffic calming measures and traffic lights at other locations in town.
The bond ordinance sets aside $100,500 for the acquisition and upgrades to equipment for the Princeton Fire Department, including personal protective equipment – turnout gear, such as boots, jackets and pants – plus radios, fire equipment and investigation equipment.
Outdated department portable and mobile radios will be replaced. Fire hoses, thermal imaging cameras, ventilation fans, saws and natural gas leak detection equipment will be replaced and upgraded.
And an all-weather drone will be purchased for $17,000 to support the Office of Emergency Management, police, fire and emergency medical services to help find missing persons and to monitor events from overhead.
