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Council to seek restoration plan after DEP notice; contractor DMK to be monitored
Summary
Council members discussed a possible DEP notice of violation for work behind a downtown hardware store and debated whether to continue work with contractor DMK; the borough administrator said a restoration plan will be presented at the next council meeting and that the borough will monitor the vendor’s work to avoid fines.
Council members raised concerns about work done behind the hardware store that could trigger a Department of Environmental Protection notice of violation. An unidentified councilmember asked whether the DEP had responded; borough administrator Michael said the borough has not yet heard back and that a response could take six to nine months. "We should have a restoration plan to the governing body for the next council meeting, sometime in September," Michael said, adding staff and the borough engineer are preparing the plan to try to avoid potential fines.
Councilmembers pressed who would be financially responsible for remedial work. Michael said the borough would be responsible for restoring borough‑owned parcels and private property owners would be responsible for work on their lots. "The parcel that is ours, we're working very closely with the borough engineer to fix," he said.
Members questioned rehiring the same contractor, DMK, given previous issues. Michael noted DMK has a long history of working with the borough engineer on river restoration projects and that rebidding could be substantially more expensive. Council conditioned future work on closer oversight: members asked that the contractor be monitored and that the engineer and administration ensure DEP compliance.
The council did not vote to replace the contractor at the meeting; instead it directed staff to present a written restoration plan in September, to continue communication with the vendor and engineer, and to provide evidence of compliance before approving further work on projects tied to the DEP issue.
Separately, council members approved small, spot removals (such as bamboo removal at park trailheads) and asked staff to provide cost comparisons for continued removal efforts.
