Plans have been unveiled for the expansion of the Morris County Public Safety Academy complex on West Hanover Avenue in Parsippany.

The Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders is moving ahead with the construction of a two-story, 31,000-square-foot addition to accommodate, among other things, the county's new Emergency Communications Center that will have the capacity to cover any of the county's 39 towns that wanted to consolidate its dispatch service with the county.

According to Freeholder Doug Cabana, the $24.6 million addition will also provide for the future growth of Emergency Management's Emergency Call Center and additional space for the Sheriff's Criminal Investigation Unit and a new crime lab.

The expansion will also afford a more secure location for the county's computer server, which is the hub of the county government's information system, Cabana said.

Groundbreaking is not expected to occur until 2011, and the anticipated completion date for the project is July 2013.

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Public safety projects remain priorities under a six-year capital program that has been introduced by the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

The 2010 capital program totals $28.2 million and continues to fund work on the county's new emergency communications center, with $2 million set aside for the design of the new facility, and $1.1 million allotted to acquire a Computer Aided Dispatch System to meet the anticipated growth and associated workload of providing emergency dispatch services for first responders across the county.

The 2011 capital program contains $24 million for construction of the new communications center, which will provide for the future growth of the county's Emergency Call Center and the Emergency Operations Center and will allow for additional space for the Sheriff's Criminal Investigation Unit. Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom, who chairs the freeholder budget committee, said it is important for the county to move ahead with the communication center.

"The freeholders made a commitment several years ago to expand our communication system so it had the capacity to cover any town that wanted to consolidate its dispatch service with the county," Nordstrom said. "It is important that we keep that commitment."

The new facility will also afford a more secure location for the county's computer server, which is the hub of the county government's information system.

The 2010 capital program also contains $500,000 to build a new courtroom in the Morris County Courthouse in space occupied by the soon-to-be-closed law library, and $400,000 for renovations to the Schuyler Building in Morristown to create four multipurpose and two computer classrooms for the County College of Morris. This will enable CCM to give up rental space that is now costing the college $400,000 per year.

Nordstrom said the freeholders are using the historic preservation concept of adaptive reuse, whereby solutions are developed that give historic but obsolete buildings a new future.

"Old buildings and spaces often outlive their original purpose," Nordstrom said. "We're taking space in the courthouse and in the Schuyler Building that has outlived its original purpose, and we're giving it new life."

The bulk of the 2010 capital program contains funds for public works projects, with $13.7 million allocated for the design and construction work on county roads and bridges, and $1.7 million earmarked to replace an aging 24 inch water transmission main along approximately 10,000 feet of Pleasant Hill Road in Chester and Randolph townships.

"Our annual capital budget is the freeholders' commitment to the insfrastruture of Morris County," said Freeholder Director Gene Feyl. "It provides the funds to upgrade all of our facilities, while at the same time providing for the services that ensure the health and safety of Morris County residents."

Other projects in the 2010 capital program include:
> $2.35 million for renovations to some academic buildings at the County College of Morris.
> $700,000 for the design of the final phase of the Central Avenue Complex at Central Park of Morris County in Parsippany.
> $700,000 for the final design of the Central Park recreational fields on the north side of Central Avenue.
> $700,000 worth of improvements to Mennen Arena that include roof replacement and the replacement of refrigerant piping insulation to decrease energy usage.
> $500,000 to complete fiber optic lines to interconnect the county government facilities in Morristown with those in the West Hanover Avenue complex.
> $216,000 to renovate patient areas and hallways at the Morris View Healthcare Center to ensure the building remains in excellent condition for the facilities residents, clients and staff.

Freeholder Jack J. Schrier, a member of the freeholder Facilities Review Committee, invoked an old adage in calling the capital program one of fiscal restraint and prudence.

"Not to go forward is to fall behind, and there is no such luxury as standing still," Schrier said. "This new capital program reflects the economic realities of our time while also looking to the future and addressing numerous quality of life programs ranging from public safety and infrastructure improvements to recreation."

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Pre-season golf registration is underway at Pinch Brook Golf Course in Florham Park.

The golf course, operated by the Morris County Park Commission, is now open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Beginning Saturday, March 13, Pinch Brook will be open for registration 7 days a week.

Pre-season registration at Flanders Valley Golf Course in Flanders, Sunset Valley Golf Course in Pompton Plains, and Berkshire Valley Golf Course in Jefferson Township begins Saturday, March 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., 7 days a week.

The last day of pre-season golf registration is Wednesday, March 31.

For information about what forms of identification are required, visit the Park
Commission Web site, www.morrisparks.net

The Morris County Park Commission golf courses open for play Saturday, March 27.

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The Morris County Vocational School District will conduct an Information Session March 10 for parents and students interested in the Career and Technical Share Time High School Education Programs offered at the Morris County School of Technology.

The Information Session, which will begin at 6 p.m. in the school cafeteria, is for students entering their junior and/or senior year of high school and their parents.

The Share Time Programs offered at the School of Technology are Auto Body/Collision Repair; Auto Service Tech I; Carpentry; Cosmetology; Computer Drafting & Graphics Studio; Electrical; Plumbing; and Welding.

The school also offers programs for students with special needs. These programs include Auto Body; Automotive Service Technology; Building and Grounds Maintenance; Building Construction; Food Services; and Retail /Supermarket Careers.

The Morris County School of Technology is at 400 East Main Street in Denville.

Additional information or an application may be obtained by calling the school at 973-627-4600 ext. 277, or by visiting the school's Web site, www.mcvts.org

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County College of Morris will hold an open house especially for adults from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 11 in the Student Community Center on the college's campus, 214 Center Grove Road in Randolph.

The Open House is aimed at anyone who has been out of high school for a few years.

CCM faculty and advisors will be on hand to address those special circumstances facing adult students, such as juggling work, family and college. Participant will also have an opportunity to hear about financial aid and discover what career possibilities are best them.

The $30 application fee will be waived for anyone who applies for admission at the open house.

Adults wishing to register for classes at the Open House should bring the following items, if applicable: 1) An official high school transcript or a copy or their GED. 2) An official college transcript in a sealed envelope. 3) SAT scores.

The Admissions Office at CCM may be reached at 973-328-5100.

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The Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders has renewed its support of the renewable energy program being undertaken by the Morris County Improvement Authority.

The freeholders approved a resolution Feb. 11 reaffirming the board's consent to the issuance by the Improvement Authority of up to $30 million in county-guaranteed bonds to finance the renewable energy project, known as the Morris Model.

Under the program, a California and New Jersey solar development team will install solar panels on the roofs of 14 public school buildings in five school districts and several county government facilities.

Freeholder William Chegwidden, freeholder liaison to the Improvement Authority, told the board that according to the solar team, all of the participating school districts will pay 35 percent less for power from the solar systems in the first year of the program than they would pay for utility - provided power.

The county entities would pay an electric rate for power from the solar systems that is 22 percent less than the cost of utility-provided power in the first year.

Under the program, power will be sold to the participants at 10.6 cents per kilowatt hour, compared with the current average of more than 15 cents now charged by traditional energy providers.

On the environmental side, the solar systems will provide 17 percent of the electric requirements for the Morris Model participants, Chegwidden said.

"With financing by the Improvement Authority through county-guaranteed bonds, the school districts will incur no debt service," Chegwidden said. "That certainly makes it financially feasible for the participants to reduce a portion of their energy bills and not experience any out-of-pocket costs."

The design, installation, operation and maintenance of the solar equipment is the responsibility of the development team of Tioga Energy, Inc., and SunDurance Energy.

The team will be able to take the tax and utility advantages that are available in the solar industry and pass a portion of these benefits on to the participating school districts and the county through the sale of solar energy to them at a fixed price, lower than the existing retail price for energy, for 15 years.

Both Chegwidden and Stephen Pearlman, the legal counsel for the Improvement Authority, said they have each fielded inquiries from other counties across the state who are interested in learning more about the Morris Model.

The solar systems will be installed at Boonton High School, the high school parking lot and the John Hill and School Street schools in the Boonton School District; Morris Knolls and Morris Hills high schools in the Morris Hills Regional School District; Mountain Lakes High School and the Wildwood School in the Mountain Lakes School District; the Brooklawn, Central, Littleton and Troy Hills schools in the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District; West Morris Central and West Morris Mendham high schools in the West Morris Regional High School District; the ice rinks and parking lot at the Morris County Park Commission's Mennen Arena in Morris Township; the county's Schuyler Building and the building's parking facility in Morristown; and the county Voter Machine Tech Center in Hanover.

Additional information about the renewable energy initiative may be obtained by calling the Morris County Improvement Authority at 973-285-6020.

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A $215,055 federal grant has allowed Morris County to purchase more than 500 pagers for the volunteer fire and EMS personnel that are dispatched by the county.

The devices will enable these first responders to take part in a countywide pager system that uses a single robust system to alert them to emergency situations.

Morris County in 2009 received a license to develop a countywide UHF paging system to provide county-wide coverage so the local responders can receive an alert anywhere in the county, said Morris County Freeholder Douglas R. Cabana.

In order to take advantage of this improved region-wide, alerting platform, all existing paging radios would have to be replaced for the volunteer fire and EMS personnel who provide the emergency services to their communities. While the $400,000 cost to build the system was borne by the county, it did not include the alerting receivers. However, Cabana said the Federal Assistance to Firefighters grant will pay for the pagers.

As a condition of the grant, each agency will cost share 10 percent toward the price based on the number of pagers they are to receive, Cabana said.

"This is a prime example of our efforts to support shared services and shared resources," Cabana said. "It also eliminates the need for each town to have the paging equipment and the associated maintenance costs and saves the Volunteer Fire Companies and First Aid Squads more than $200,000."

Scott DiGiralomo, director of the Morris County Department of Law and Public Safety, said cost savings are ultimately to be gained by a reduction in dispatch and infrastructure costs. He noted the initial transition costs were also well outside of the range of operating and capital budgets of the participating municipalities.

Cabana thanked the Borough of Mountain Lakes and its fire department for acting as the grant applicant on behalf of the other participants, which are the Boonton Township Fire Department; the Harding Fire/EMS Department; the Mendham Borough Fire Department; the Mendham Borough EMS; the Mendham Township Fire Department; the Mendham Township EMS; the Mine Hill Fire Department/EMS Department; the Mount Arlington Fire Department; the Netcong Fire Department; and Rockaway Borough Fire/EMS Department; and the Wharton Fire Department and EMS.

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The Morris County Sheriff's Office web site has undergone a complete head-to-toe makeover.

The site, which can be viewed at www.mcsheriff.org , sports a new look, new
architecture and improved navigation.

"Our web site has served us well but it needed some freshening up," said Sheriff Ed Rochford. "We especially wanted to take advantage of newer technology that has emerged since the site debuted in 2005. Overhauling the visual styling of the site went hand-in-hand with that strategy."

Navigation has been improved with the relocation of the main menu to the top of the page. Frequently accessed content, such as up-to-date foreclosure listings, is now represented by icons that have a presence on the right hand side of every page of the site. Interactive Google maps replace static images, allowing site visitors to obtain directions to the correctional facility, courthouse and Legal Services Division without leaving the web site.

Morris CountyUndersheriff Jack Dempsey, who headed the web site makeover, plans to add locally-produced instructional videos in the coming months.

Among law enforcement agencies, the Morris County Sheriff's web site remains ahead of the pack when it comes to eliminating accessibility barriers that make it difficult or impossible for many people with disabilities to use the web.

"It's pretty simple," explained Dempsey. "Public sector web sites shouldn't discriminate against disabled visitors."

The site was developed by paviaweb.com, a web site development company based in Morristown.

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The Morris County Board of Elections would like to enhance the communication methods between it and the county's poll workers.

That's why the board is asking citizens who are among the county's Poll Worker Group to send in their e-mail addresses, if they have one.

According to the Election Board, having the e-mail addresses would enable it to instantly communicate instructions or changes in procedure to the poll workers, thus increasing efficiency at the polling place on election day.

"Since most elections are months apart, workers are at the polls only three or four days a year," said Tony Desimone, the county's poll worker training coordinator. "If we had their e-mail addresses, we could get information to them in a timely manner before an election and perhaps refresh their memories regarding the process that needs to be followed at the polling place. E-mailing the information would also reduce our postage costs."

In addition, the poll workers would be able to communicate with the Board of Elections with the same ease, sharing their thoughts and concerns and offering suggestions on possible polling place efficiencies, Desimone said.

Desimone said poll workers may e-mail their own e-mail addresses to him at adesimone@co.morris.nj.us . He said the e-mail addresses will remain secure and will not be sold or otherwise distributed.

The Board of Elections is also working on creating an entry point on the county government Web site for poll workers to have access to election information, instruction materials and educational videos covering poll worker responsibilities on election day.

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