Many projects planned for 2025

All of the funds provided to Sussex County in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will have been allocated by the end of the year, county administrator Ron Tappan told the Board of County Commissioners at its meeting Dec. 11.

The county received $27.3 million through the $1.9 billion legislation approved by Congress in 2021 to help the country recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That’s the largest volume of projects and dollars that’s been distributed in the county in the 20 years I’ve been dealing with it,” Tappan said.

“Now the work comes. ... Next year, we get real busy because we have a lot of work that we got to get completed.”

The commissioners approved an ordinance to spend about $6.6 million on capital improvements. Grants from the state Department of Transportation are expected to cover the cost of improvements to roads and bridges.

Vape sensors

The board also approved a resolution to use $99,955 from the settlement of opioid litigation to buy vape sensors for county middle and high schools.

Jill Space, director of the board, said the sensors will assist school administrators in enforcing anti-vaping policies.

”Local schools expressed great interest in this intervention due to the accessibility of vapes, the prevalence and opportunity to use illicit drugs and vapes, and the high rates of vaping in young people, especially students.”

In addition, Space said the paperwork transferring ownership of the Dennis Library in Newton to the county has been completed. “So that’s a done deal now.”

Other resolutions approved:

• Authorize the installation of PFAS Point of Entry Treatment (POET) systems using $211,745 in ARPA funds. PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” have been linked to a number of health problems.

• Authorize shared service agreements for the county to provide 9-1-1 services to Branchville, Byram, Frankford, Fredon, Green, Hampton, Lafayette, Montague, Sandyston, Stillwater, Sussex, Walpack and Wantage.

Chris Carney, deputy director of the board, said there are two openings on the Sussex County Community College’s board of trustees. Interested residents should submit their resumes to the board.

Commissioner Jack DeGroot said 117 residents responded to a survey on the county’s farmland preservation plan in the first six days.

He urged municipal officials, administrators and employees to respond as well. The deadline is the end of January.

Volunteer of the Year

Sparta Councilwoman Christine Quinn was honored as the 2024 Sussex County Municipal Alliance Volunteer of the Year during the meeting.

“Ms. Quinn brought the alliance together in Sparta and is always inviting new members from all sectors and including new representatives from each of the schools in the district,” Commissioner Earl Schick said, reading the proclamation.

”Through her careful planning, Ms. Quinn has bridged the gap between the township, Police Department and school district, encouraging everyone to take part in decisions on programming for the new trends in drug prevention.”

Quinn said the Municipal Alliance serves all demographics in Sparta.

Funding from the opioid settlement has “allowed us to really take our program to a whole new level,” she said.

The Sparta alliance has changed its tagline to “Live your best life,” rather than saying, “Don’t do this,” she pointed out. “We’re focusing on bringing people to things that we hope will help them avoid other things that are bad for them.”

She added, ”No alliance stands on its own. The commitment of our membership has been inspiring.”