Millburn Township awarded a $17.4 million contract for its Town Hall renovation and adopted a $2.5 million bond to help pay for it at the Township Committee's Oct. 20 meeting.

The committee also reintroduced an ordinance banning data centers in all zoning districts, weeks after the Planning Board found an earlier version inconsistent with the Master Plan. Public hearings on that measure and five other newly introduced ordinances are set for Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Town Hall contract goes to Grove Contracting

Under Resolution 26-242, the committee authorized Mayor Frank Saccomandi IV to execute a contract with Verona-based Grove Contracting, LLC for the Town Hall renovation and addition, according to the meeting agenda packet. The not-to-exceed price is $17,442,000.

The contract takes effect after a 20-day estoppel period on the bond ordinance.

Grove was the second-lowest of five bidders when bids opened Sept. 3. The lowest bidder, S. Houran USA Contractors, LLC, was found non-responsive by the township attorney. The remaining bids ranged from $17,750,000 to $19,222,000.

The project had a rocky start. Bids opened July 23 were all rejected, and the committee directed staff to re-bid in August. Maplewood-based Goldstein Partnership, the township's architect, and Legacy Construction Management, the owner's representative, both reviewed the second-round bids and agreed with the award recommendation.

Chief Financial Officer Matthew Laracy certified that funds are available across three bond ordinances: 2690-24, 2723-25 and the newly adopted 2778-26.

$2.5M supplemental bond adopted

Ordinance 2778-26, introduced Oct. 6, reached its second reading Oct. 20. It appropriates $2.5 million in supplemental funding for the Town Hall project and authorizes up to $2,380,952 in bonds or notes. A $119,048 down payment comes from previously budgeted capital funds.

Data center ban reintroduced with new definitions

The committee introduced Ordinance 2783-26, which would prohibit data centers in every zoning district. The new ordinance replaces the earlier Ordinance 2770-26, which the Planning Board found inconsistent with the Master Plan.

At a Sept. 27 Environmental Commission meeting, Mayor Saccomandi said a Planning Board subcommittee had identified issues with the original ordinance and that a revised version was expected within weeks. He noted that data centers are not a permitted use in Millburn and that no data center applications were pending.

The new ordinance defines a data center broadly, covering server farms, cryptocurrency mining operations, artificial-intelligence computing facilities and colocation services. It carves out two exceptions: limited-scale computing facilities that occupy no more than 20% of a building's floor area or 10,000 square feet (whichever is less) and draw no more than 1 megawatt of dedicated electrical capacity, and residential computing equipment operated by a homeowner.

The ordinance also directs the Planning Board to review the ban within two years and after any future Master Plan reexamination.

Other new ordinances

The committee introduced five other ordinances, all with Tuesday, Nov. 10 public hearings:

  • Ordinance 2781-26 reconstitutes the Special Improvement District (SID) into seven assessment districts. Explore Millburn-Short Hills would continue as the district management corporation, and a new township Economic Development Director would serve as its executive director.
  • Ordinance 2784-26 creates the Economic Development Director position as a department head reporting to the business administrator.
  • Ordinance 2779-26 amends stormwater control standards.
  • Ordinance 2780-26 updates the historic preservation checklist.
  • Ordinance 2782-26 authorizes acquisition of Block 702, Lots 8 and 9 for public purpose.

Kennedy at Millburn deal authorized

Resolution 26-241 authorized a memorandum of understanding with The Kennedy at Millburn LLC, the contract purchaser of 111 JFK Parkway in Short Hills. Under the MOU, the developer agreed to pay $900,000 to upgrade a sanitary sewer pump station and contribute $100,000 toward improvements at the Bauer Community Center in Taylor Park. The township agreed to amend zoning for the property to modify permitted stories, amenities and access locations, without increasing maximum building height, total units or the existing 20% affordable housing set-aside.

The committee also proclaimed 2026 the 150th anniversary of the Millburn Fire Department, which has served the township since 1876.

The next Township Committee meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Millburn Education Center, 434 Millburn Ave.