Borough hall would get a new phone system under a contract up for approval by the council. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Here’s a preview of the Red Bank borough council’s agenda for its semimonthly meeting Wednesday night:

• The council is expected to take formal action to create an overlay zone for the 2.7-acre former Visiting Nurse Association headquarters property on Riverside Avenue.

In its recent review of the proposal, the planning board rejected a recommendation, endorsed by Mayor Pasquale Menna, that site owner Saxum Real Estate be allowed to build as many as 90 housing units per acre.

Instead, the board voted to allow 80 units per acre, though the council is not obligated to follow the board’s recommendation.

• Also up for consideration is a resolution awarding a three-year contract for telecom services to Monmouth Telecom, based on Drs. James Parker Boulevard, at a cost not to exceed $26,400 per year, plus $20,000 in first-year startup costs.

At the November 7 council workshop meeting, Business Administrator Ziad Shehady said borough offices will be getting all new telephone equipment, including handsets, under the startup costs, and that voice over internet protocol (VOIP) service would be used. Internet service is included in the deal, and Comcast will provide backup phone service in the event of an internet outage, he said.

• Also on the agenda are bond ordinances for $3.37 million worth of park and street work; water and sewer utility upgrades costing $1.45 million; and $422,000 in parking utility work on the English Plaza parking lot.

• The borough’s 30-page sign ordinance will be reduced and simplified, getting it down to 19 pages, under an amendment up for introduction.

Slated for elimination in the law: regulations that “are rarely, if ever, utilized rendering them essentially useless,” the preamble to the ordinance amendment says.

• The council may engage a lawyer to represent the town in a class action lawsuit against information giant LexisNexis.

The nature of the lawsuit isn’t specified, but the resolution to engage attorney Michael D. Fitzgerald says the case arises “from potential violations of the False Claim Act, on behalf of certain municipalities that contracted with Lexis Nexis for the processing of New Jersey Motor Vehicle accident reports.”

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at borough hall, 90 Monmouth Street. Here’s the full agenda.