Three heated outdoor pavilions will be constructed downtown, aimed to help bars and restaurants to continue operations amid COVID-19 safety restrictions on indoor dining set by the state.

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The three pavilions, 25 x 25 feet in size, will be located where the main outdoor spaces were established in the summer: East Cherry Street, Main Street, and Lewis Street. This past summer, the city designated seven areas downtown for outdoor dining and social distancing, as part of the city’s COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Strategy.

Drawings will be made available for businesses that are interested in constructing their own pavilions, with all inspection fees and zoning permit fees waived. Permits will still be required. Options for propane, gas and electric heaters, will be shared with guidance from the Fire Department and Building Division on fire safety protocols for each type of heater.

Tents would have to come down at the end of November, Gabe Bailer told the Board of Trustees of the Rahway Arts and Business Partnership. These are structures, not tents, that can handle wind and snow loads. “It’s something that will be a winterized structure, able to stay up, not just for winter but for spring, summer, with logo branding on it,” he said.

City Council introduced a $150,000 bond ordinance (O-40-20) during its monthly meeting on Nov. 16. for the purchase and installation of the outdoor shelters. A  public hearing and final adoption of the ordinance is scheduled for the Dec. 7 meeting.

A bond ordinance provides the authority to spend money and authorizes the issuance of debt – those are two independent actions, Landolfi said. “We can spend money but we don’t have to sell the debt,” Landolfi said. In this case, he is “pretty confident that we will get reimbursed” through the Union County CARES grants There are two pavilions under contract and a third is expected, Landolfi said.

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