BRICK – The Township Council voted to table a resolution that funds the replacement of two township-owned bulkheads.
Tabling means that they are putting off voting on it for now.
Resident Vic Finelli questioned the cost of the project during the public comment portion of the meeting. He said he recently replaced the bulkhead of his waterfront home going “top of the line,” and had his dock, 80-foot bulkhead and boat lift taken out.
He had the contractor dig 10-feet deep into his yard to install additional reinforcement using pilings and galvanized rods, and replaced the wooden bulkhead with vinyl.
“For that, I paid $51,700,” he said. “That comes out to about $646 a linear foot.”
Referencing two bulkhead repairs upon which the council was about to vote, Finelli said the township was being charged nearly twice what he paid, or about $1,171 a linear foot.
“I paid $646 for all of that, and you’re paying $1,171, and you’re not getting any of that,” he said. One township location has 10 feet of bulkheading and the second location has 20 feet.
“I don’t know a lot about marine engineering, but this does not smell right, paying $1,100 a foot for just replacing some boards…30 feet of wood and you’re paying $35,000,” he said.
Township Business Administrator JoAnn Bergin said that when the township went out for bids on the bulkhead work, it was designed by a consulting engineer who was supervised by the township engineer.
“The lowest bidder got the project, who is somebody who has worked for the town in the past, Kremer Marine,” she said.
“So it’s like what we do in roadways when we’re able to save money, usually through a quantity adjustment…you stretch the limit of roadway that you’re able to do so you maximize the amount of money that you allocated for the project.”
The bulkhead replacement project is very similar, where the original contract came with some efficiency so the township was able to do additional bulkheading, Bergin said. “So this is an extension to an existing approved contract.”
Council President Derrick T. Ambrosino asked if any council member wanted to make a motion to table the agenda item for further investigation. Councilwoman Marianna Pontoriero made the motion and all members voted in favor.
