The Nutley Board of Commissioners moved to improve safety at town buildings in an emergency, applied for a grant to make walking trails handicapped accessible and hired a grant writer at the Feb. 19 public meeting.

Mayor Alphonse Petracco introduced a resolution placing emergency generators in five buildings as part of the township's official Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The buildings "provide critical life-saving and life-sustaining community services as a priority," according to Petracco's resolution.

The plan includes the Department of Parks and Recreation building at 44 Park Ave., which is used for shelter capabilities in an emergency, along with the Department of Public Safety on Chestnut Street, for use as an emergency operations center.

The Nutley Emergency Rescue Squad building on Chestnut Street would have a generator for emergency response, while Town Hall on Chestnut Street would have a generator to run pumps for the township well and for maintaining municipal operations in an emergency, the resolution states.

The fifth site for a generator is for a warming center at the Public Affairs building on Chestnut Street.

Two other actions were taken to try and earn grant funds.

Commissioner Joseph Scarpelli moved a resolution to apply for grant funds from the state Division of Parks and Forestry's Recreational Trails Grant Program to "develop trails and trail facilities."

The board "strives to save tax dollars, assure clean land, air and water, improving working and living environments for its residents," Scarpelli said in the resolution.

This grant would fund handicapped accessibility by placing ramps at specific points on entry into parks and trails, Scarpelli said.

On the wider subject of grants, Commissioner Thomas Evans introduced a resolution to award a contract for $39,996 to Millennium Strategies of Caldwell for grant writing for state and federal money as alternate funding sources to reduce taxes for residents.

The same company provided grant services in 2012.