John J. Jahr, TSOS, Department Manager/Traffic and Kelsey Howard, Grants & Funding Services Coordinator Working the Booth at the NJSLOM Conference

In New Jersey, the largest municipal event by far is heralded in by the NJ State League of Municipalities’ (NJSLOM) Annual Conference held within the casinos of Atlantic City, NJ. This 3-day long event is filled with handshaking, info-booths, making friends, enjoying the festivities, developing business contacts and a chance to compare notes with any one of the 565 municipalities within the state!

According to the League’s 2015 Municipal Directory, NJSLOM President and Mayor of Piscataway, Brian C. Wahler states “The NJSLOM is a voluntary association created to support and enhance municipal governance by pooling information resources and facilitating sharing of ideas.” For the past 100 years, the League has served local officials enabling towns throughout the Garden State to come together in a united voice as their advocate.

Nothing brings more satisfaction to municipal or consulting engineers than being acknowledged for helping each community achieve its public health, safety and welfare goals. Winning a Project of the Year Award from the New Jersey Society of Municipal Engineers (NJSME) is just such recognition and is celebrated at the annual League conference.

This year, engineers from Maser Consulting brought in one First and two Second Place awards for projects that made life within the communities they serve just that much better.

Hackensack Reservoir, Union County, NJ

Geotechnical Project Engineer Moustafa A. Gouda, PE, DGE, FASCE and Landscape Architect Gustave E. DeBlasio, CPSI, LTE, ISA, CIC, LEED-AP teamed in taking First Place honors for the recreational improvements to the Hackensack Reservoir in the Award’s Category D: Parks/Recreation Projects. Nestled between the urban municipalities of Weehawken and Union City, this impressive adaptive reuse project transformed an existing inoperative reservoir into a much-needed walking trail park. Residents now have a peaceful recreation environment in the midst of a concrete jungle.

One Second Place award went to Andrew R. Hipolit, PE, PP, CME, CFM, CPWM, municipal engineer for the Borough of New Providence, for Category G – Municipal Projects Involving Intergovernmental Cooperation. Design innovations and cooperation enabled the Borough to restore two stormwater outfalls destroyed by Hurricane Irene that were impacting residential properties and roadways. The work was completed within an expedited timeframe that was critical to the success of this project.

Restored stormwater outfall in New Providence, NJ

The other Second Place was bestowed upon Carl P. O’Brien, PE, PP, CME, CPWM for recreational improvements to the Don Ahern Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Bayonne, NJ, Award Category F: Municipal Construction Management Projects. The City’s aging facility and lack of recreational space promoted the complete redesign of the stadium’s layout to utilize the maximum area within the constraints of the existing space. The new layout achieved the necessary versatility by hosting a synthetic turf overlay for baseball, softball, football, soccer, lacrosse and youth soccer, while a 10-foot wide synthetic turf walking path circles the complex.

Don Ahern Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Bayonne, NJ

The awards were presented on November 18, 2015 at the 2015 NJSME Annual Award Reception at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Our congratulations to everyone involved for a job well done!

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

– KELSEY HOWARD, Grants & Funding Services