Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clark approves consent agenda including two-year brush-and-branch grinding contract up to $125,500; residents question cost and mulch availability
Summary
The council adopted its consent agenda, including a two-year brush-and-branch grinding and removal contract awarded to Top Quality not to exceed $125,500; residents questioned the increase from a prior ~$40,000 contract and asked whether free mulch would continue.
The Township of Clark Council on June 1 approved its consent agenda, which included several routine municipal actions and a two-year brush-and-branch grinding-and-removal contract awarded to Top Quality for an amount not to exceed $125,500.
Mayor Albanese reviewed the consent items before the vote: appointment of Katie Benga as Clean Communities coordinator (resolution 26-150); advertisement/municipal-aid grant work on Westfield Avenue; bid receipt for fire alarm upgrades; award of the brush-and-branch grinding contract for 2026–2027 (resolution 26153); a budget insertion of $35,526 for leaf composting (resolution 26154); a sewer-balance adjustment of $1,500 (resolution 26155); and a 100% property tax exemption for a veteran per U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs directive (resolution 26156).
During the citizens hearing, resident John Greavves questioned the grinding contract cost, noting a prior contract he believed was about $40,000 in 2023 and asking whether the current award represented a sharp increase. "I just looked briefly… I think a previous contract was about $40,000 in 2023. This is $125,000," Greavves said, asking whether free mulch would continue.
Council and administration responded that the earlier contract covered grinding only and that trucking/removal had been billed separately (about $400 per truckload). The current two-year contract was explained as including removal; the mayor and council estimated the annualized cost at about $60,000–$65,000 per year with removal included and noted the awarded total was under the advertised $125,500 maximum. Officials also cited changes in disposal acceptance and travel distance to dumping sites (Middlesex County facilities and others) as contributors to higher costs.
The council adopted the consent agenda by motion and unanimous roll-call vote.
The administration said mulch availability has been limited by storage and disposal constraints and is not guaranteed; residents were advised to contact DPW for specific availability.
Other consent items recorded: the municipal aid advertisement for Westfield Avenue repaving (engineer-prepared plans), fire alarm bid receipt for municipal facilities, and the $35,526 special revenue insertion for the 2025 leaf composting program tied to a grant.
