Elizabeth Twp. approves EF proposal for consolidation
The measure will likely be necessary to complete Phase 2 of renovations at the high school.
Elizabeth Township commissioners approved Elizabeth Forward School District’s consolidation plan during Monday’s meeting.
Many residents and people online have questioned the motion as there has been no final approval of consolidating the school district’s elementary schools and moving middle school students to the high school campus.
While the school district hasn’t approved Phase 2 of its high school renovations project yet, it submitted a plan to township officials in code enforcement and planning that was approved last year, according to township manager Tammy Firda.
“Somehow, it got set aside by the former code enforcement and it didn’t get signed,” Firda said. “So the only thing the commissioners are doing this evening is just approving that plan so it can be signed now and given back to the school district.”
Approval by township commissioners allows the school district to move forward with approval for Phase 2. It was determined in May that the district has to consolidate in order to pay for the construction.
Phase 2 was considered in the general planning of the Phase 1 work and is now in design and engineering, which could overlap with Phase 1 to cut costs.
Consolidation would include additional construction to the high school and would add seventh- and eighth-graders in their own separate two-level wing behind the school that wraps around the pool.
Kindergarten and first-grade will attend the current Central Elementary and Grades 2-6 will attend the current Elizabeth Forward Middle School. All other elementary schools would be sold by the district.
Planning for the Phase 2 classroom addition — if it is incorporated into the Phase 1 project — would include bidding out Phase 2 construction around December with potential contract awards in January. Phase 2 has an expected construction duration of 18 months with completion in August of 2027.
PowerPoint presentations about the updated high school project can be found at the district’s website at www. efsd.net.
Update on Boston Fieldhouse
Work is underway at the Boston Fieldhouse, right next to the new ballfield, where residents and visitors will be able to use the facility for various activities.
The building is 60 feet by 100 feet by 16 feet tall, has men’s and women’s bathrooms with plumbing and a concession area accessible to the trail. It will be heated and cooled for multi-purpose all year round.
PDDM Solutions offered a $282,880 estimate to design, construct and run utilities to the building, which the board approved at its last meeting. There would be $92,000 in donations and $170,000 from the board of commissioners to help cover the costs. The remainder will come out of township funds.
Commissioner Adam Musisko said Monday that the field has been used a lot, and the fieldhouse concrete has been poured with all the plumbing installed. It is currently ready for the framing for the bathrooms and the concession stand.
“We project probably another month to get it entirely installed,” Musisko said. “The plumbers are on standby for fixtures, making a couple decisions on the interior walls and how we are going to do that.”
The interior of the fieldhouse, according to Musisko, is where the batting cages are located. That area is not properly functional because they are not open yet, but the cages are completed and installed along with the scoreboard.
Musisko also said they moved a fence by the third base dugout to create a new pathway so people don’t need to cut through the dugout to get to the stands. Paving will begin in the next couple of weeks.
“There was a walkway behind (the dugout), and instead of having to cut through to get to the visiting stands, there’s a new access that was created there that was done in a very inexpensive (way) by one of our sponsors who are on our signs,” he said. “JDR Fencing is one of those sponsors on the wall in left field. They did a good job putting up the fence for us.”
Also Monday, commissioners approved a $1,825 quote from Atlas Pest Solutions for treatment at the fieldhouse.
The goal is to use the fieldhouse by the end of the summer for concessions and maybe a soft opening, and they are hoping for the project to be complete in four to six weeks.
In other business:
• Commissioners approved adopting resolutions to make GEDTF grant applications for the 2025-26 paving season and for township recreational facilities.
• The township also approved establishing a bank account for grant funding with Northwest Bank.
