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City officials discuss Stacy Park tree clearing, DEP notice and procurement questions
Summary
Council members and consultants addressed a DEP notice and restoration plan after contractors cleared trees along the Assunpink/riverfront; the consultant said he was not engaged until the DEP letter arrived and a restoration plan has been submitted; council raised questions about permits, invoice splitting and procurement protocols.
Council discussion on April 15 turned to work done along the riverfront at Stacy Park after public questions and press reports about tree clearing, possible permitting requirements and invoicing practices.
Randy Baum, a licensed landscape architect and consultant working for the city’s contracting firm BRS, told the council his firm was not engaged until the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) sent a letter prompting a restoration plan. Baum said the park frontage “has been maintained mostly as lawn historically,” and that past years’ reductions in park maintenance allowed invasive, non-native vegetation to overtake native plantings. Baum said a restoration plan was submitted to DEP and that planned work includes returning much of the frontage to mown lawn or pollinator-meadow plantings and replacing lost trees under DEP guidance.
Council members raised procurement and contract-splitting concerns. Several speakers and members asked why city staff did not bring consultants in earlier and whether invoices had been split into multiple smaller amounts to avoid reporting or bidding thresholds. Procurement and contract-management questions were also raised in public comment by a procurement specialist who said splitting invoices to avoid competitive thresholds can violate purchasing rules.
Business Administrator Maria Richardson told the council proceeds from sale of surplus city property would return to the general fund. Richardson and other administrators acknowledged that questions had been raised about contracting and said administration would provide documentation. The administration also noted it had responded to a DEP notice issued in February and that restoration work and a repair plan were under way.
The council approved a set of resolutions on consent that included an item connected by council members to Stacy Park; at the meeting several members said the consent resolution was intended as a step to "rectify" prior administrative practices and to ensure necessary permits and procedures are followed going forward. Several council members said they would continue oversight and ask for more records from administration about procurement and permitting.
Why it matters: The clearing and replacement of mature trees along a flood-prone riverfront involves DEP permitting, public-works planning, procurement transparency and potential public-safety and environmental impacts. The council sought more documentation and said it will press the administration for permitting and contract records.
