Secaucus to hand Millridge School to Board of Ed for $1 after $1.8M in payments; engineer gets $194K bridge job without bidding

The Secaucus Board of Education will end up owning Millridge School for $1 under a lease-to-own deal the Town Council approved last month. On the same night, the council gave its consulting engineer a $194,000 bridge repair job without public advertising, town records show.

Both items passed at the council’s Sept. 22 meeting. Earlier in September the council also adopted a $1.84 million bond ordinance and gave a $70,000 snack contract for the town’s aftercare program without the formal fair-and-open process. Hudson TV reviewed the signed resolutions in the town’s own meeting packets.

1. Millridge School: $1.8 million, then $1

The town owns Millridge School at 40 Millridge Road (Block 225, Lot 10). Under Resolution 2026-259, the council authorized a “Lease and Purchase Agreement” with the Secaucus Board of Education:

• Who pays whom: The Board of Education pays the town $200,000 a year in rent, for a total of $1.8 million.
• Money already paid: The agreement says the town has already received the board’s payments for 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and that those count toward the $1.8 million. That is $1 million so far, which leaves $800,000 to go. Rent is due each Dec. 1.
• The $1 handoff: The lease runs through Dec. 31, 2030. At the end of the term, the town transfers the property to the Board of Education “for the sum of one dollar ($1.00).”
• Who covers the building in the meantime: The board pays all utilities and is “entirely responsible” for maintenance and repairs at its own cost. It must also carry insurance and handle fire-code, disability-access, lead and asbestos compliance. The property can only be used as a school or for board offices.
• Taxes: The agreement says the property is currently exempt from municipal taxes.
• Terms can change: The town “reserves the right to increase the amount of rent” or change other terms on 30 days’ written notice. The board’s continued occupancy would count as acceptance.

What it means for taxpayers: Both sides of this deal are public bodies, so the money moves from the school district to the town. The resolution and agreement do not say what the property is worth, how the town will use the payments, or which school budget line pays the rent. The copy of the agreement attached to the resolution was not yet signed or dated.

The council vote was 6-0, with Councilman John Gerbasio marked absent on the clerk’s tally.

2. $194,000 bridge engineering job, without public advertising

Under Resolution 2026-258, the council awarded Remington & Vernick Engineers a professional services contract “not to exceed” $194,000 for engineering on the Harmon Meadow Boulevard Bridge Phase I Repairs (North Side).

The resolution cites the state law that lets professional services contracts “be negotiated and awarded by the governing body without public advertising.” It notes that Remington & Vernick already holds the town’s consulting engineer appointment under Resolution 2026-66. The $194,000 figure is based on the firm’s own proposal.

That appointment has grown. Under Resolution 2026-66, adopted Feb. 10, 2026 after the town’s fair-and-open solicitation, Remington & Vernick’s consulting engineer contract for Feb. 15, 2026 to Feb. 14, 2027 is capped at $1,000,000. Two years earlier, Resolution 2024-66 capped the same appointment at $237,500. The Sept. 22 resolution does not say whether the $194,000 counts toward the $1 million cap.

How the bridge work is funded: On Sept. 9 the council gave final approval to Bond Ordinance 2026-30, which it had introduced Aug. 25. The ordinance appropriates $1,840,000: an $88,000 down payment plus up to $1,752,000 in bonds or notes. It breaks down as:

• $500,000 for rehabilitation of the Harmon Meadow Bridge and other infrastructure
• $650,000 to improve Castle Road
• $556,000 for equipment and vehicles, including police SUVs, computers and DPW trucks and machinery
• $134,000 for improvements to public buildings

As is standard for municipal bonds, the ordinance pledges the town to levy property taxes to repay the debt.

3. $70,000 aftercare snack contract, non-fair-and-open

Resolution 2026-244, adopted Sept. 9, awards Natoli’s Catering a “Non-Fair and Open” contract to supply snacks for the Secaucus After Care Program in the 2026-27 school year, for up to $70,000. Non-fair-and-open means the contract skipped the formal public-notice process under the state’s pay-to-play law. The town also did not advertise for bids, citing an exception for perishable food.

According to the resolution, the town got three quotes. Natoli’s quoted $2.40 per snack, made up of a piece of fruit, a healthy drink and a healthy treat. The term began Sept. 1. The resolution says Natoli’s filed a political contribution disclosure form certifying it made no reportable contributions in the prior 12 months.

4. Other items

• Verizon tax refund (Res. 2026-250, Sept. 22): Cancels $58,599.09 in 2026 taxes overbilled to Verizon’s town-wide account. The tax assessor determined Verizon was entitled to a refund.
• Court collections, no bid (Res. 2026-248, Sept. 22): Penn Credit Corporation of Harrisburg, Pa., gets another one-year municipal court collections contract starting Sept. 26. The resolution says Penn Credit held the contract in previous years. It cites the rule that contracts under $17,500 a year can be awarded without advertising for bids, but it lists no dollar amount.
• Demand on NJSEA (Res. 2026-254, Sept. 22): The council “formally demands” that the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority release all outstanding Municipal Assistance Program payments owed to Secaucus. The resolution says hearing officers’ reports from 2004 and 2012 require the American Dream developer to make PILOT payments to the NJSEA. It says those reports entitle Secaucus to at least $100,000 a year in the first two years and $200,000 a year after that. The resolution does not say how much is outstanding. Copies go to Gov. Sherrill, Meadowlands legislators, NJSEA leadership and American Dream management.
• Warehouse community benefits deal: At its July 28 meeting, the council held a hearing listed as a “Public Hearing on a Community Benefit Agreement with Hartz Industries.” It then adopted Resolution 2026-216, a community benefits agreement with Meadowlands Logistics Center LLC under the state’s Aspire tax-credit program. The project is a 775,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution complex on a 136-acre site at 100 Paterson Plank Road, with an estimated eligible cost of about $189.7 million. The developer will make a one-time $50,000 payment for a park at 236 Meadow Lane or another park project, due within six months of signing. The minutes show one resident asked what the site would be used for, whether a tenant had been chosen, and whether a traffic study had been done. The council approved the minutes of that hearing on Sept. 9.

Next meeting

The Secaucus Mayor and Council meets next on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m., after a 5 p.m. caucus, according to the town’s meeting calendar. Council minutes list the meeting site as the Municipal Government Center, 1203 Paterson Plank Road. As of Thursday morning, the town had not posted the agenda.

Documents: Sept. 22, 2026 final approved agenda and resolutions (Millridge agreement, Remington & Vernick, Verizon, Penn Credit, NJSEA) · Sept. 9, 2026 final approved agenda (Bond Ordinance 2026-30, Natoli’s Catering) · Feb. 10, 2026 minutes (Res. 2026-66) · Feb. 27, 2024 minutes (Res. 2024-66) · July 28, 2026 minutes (Res. 2026-216) · Town meeting calendar. The town’s website may show a brief browser check before documents open.

Hudson TV asks: Is the Millridge School deal, $1.8 million in rent and then the building for $1, fair to Secaucus taxpayers, or should the town have gotten more for it?
Share your take in the comments.

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Featured photo: the Secaucus Municipal Government Center, by Mr. Matté via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; cropped, with text added by Hudson TV.