Highlands Borough Hall
It’s spacious. It’s spotlessly clean. It’s customer friendly, and Borough Hall is open for business.
The new Borough Hall on Route 36 at Miller Street is a refreshing and welcome change from what borough employees and residents have endured since Superstorm Sandy wiped out borough hall on Bay Avenue. Through the years, borough business has been accomplished through crowded trailers on Shore Drive.
With plenty of parking both at the front door of Borough Hall…which actually is at the rear of the Route 36 visibly seen building ….facing a backyard on Miller Street….. as well as further away by the entrance to police headquarters, there are both steps and a long ramp for easy access into the main hallway. To the right once inside, employees are behind glass windows, but the counter is filled with stacks of every application any resident could need.
In addition to the rows of applications, for everything from garage sale permits to closing streets for filming, there are business cards available for each of the members of council, as well as the borough administrator, building inspector and other officials residents might need.
The building has been fully inspected and approved by all officials, with the fire code setting 119 persons is the capacity for the main floor of the building, and 64 persons is the capacity for the court room.
Offices for the borough administrator and borough clerk are towards the back of the building on the Route 36 side and an inside staircase gives access to the police department.
The police department is not fully moved into the facility as yet, with Oct. 20 the date set for their final establishment of headquarters there. However, at the downstairs police entrance, there is a panic room which someone in an emergency can access, and a telephone for calling the police for quick response.
Still to be completed by the borough are the police A/V, computer and phone systems, all set for next week.
Still to be completed on the building are some punch-list items and a sound system in the council chambers, also set for installation next week. On the exterior, only the cupola which is currently in the parking lot, has to be raised on the building.
The borough has also offered parking on weekends to members of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church for their Saturday evening and Sunday morning masses. Church pastor the Rev. Jarlath Quinn has made the announcement at church services and has expressed his thanks to the borough for their cooperation. The church also has limited parking on its own property with access off Highland Avenue as well.
