Colts Neck government body approved a bond ordinance years ago for bathrooms at Five Points Park. Frequent visitors to the Colts Neck Public Meetings, can’t recall seeing a presentation on the architect’s proposed design.
At the July 9th Town Meeting, the governing body shared the bid price exceeded $1.3 million. The bids for the 1,728 sq. foot structure, came back almost double the town’s estimated budget.
Cost of engineering specifications, creating the bid package, the architects consulting services and the septic design prepared by a third party would be additional costs not yet revealed. T&M associates is the town hired engineering firm used to review and approve septic systems for developments, so why was a third-party local engineering firm hired to create the septic system specification?
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The proposed expense includes two bathrooms, a meeting room, a full kitchen with cabinets and a 480 foot cover porch. Why did the plan grow to a field house, when the basic bathrooms facilities was the discussed need?
The 218 page building specification calls for a kitchen with a microwave, refrigerator and ice maker. The structure will have metal roof panels and an engineered truss design. HVAC is required to support year round use of the building.
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The proposed plan at Five Points was sold to the public as being a replacement for the Port a John’s in use. Port a John’s are functional, cost effective and work well on the County Golf courses. They also don’t need to be financed, don’t require HVAC and don’t require drilling a well and installing a septic system. Spending so much to eliminate 6 Port-A-John’s is outrageous!
Let not forget the $539,272.28 for the proposed children's playground equipment for Five Points. Pricing from the vendor is lump sum. Why isn't this proposal showing line-item pricing? Who are the other vendors bidding for the children's playground equipment or is this considered professional services by our elected officials?
In asking questions, Colts Neck elected officials offer no answers. They appear like a wet bar of soap. The tighter we squeeze, the more slippery they become.
In October 2023, Colts Neck secured a grant from Monmouth County in the sum of $200,000 for the bathrooms. Based on information and belief, Monmouth County is now considering cancelling the funding since the project has not been awarded or even started. The $200,000 would then be extended to another community in need of cash, to help fund an active project.
Opposed to losing the $200,000 and making payments on an unused bond for two years, how about scaling the project back to support the basic need…bathrooms! Eliminate the covered patio, the central meeting room and the hvac system.
The Recreation Committee minutes made reference to installing a water well and septic. The building specifications don’t mention the installation of a septic system, the installation of a well for water and water treatment equipment, including a well pump. So where is the water to come from? What are the costs for the water well, pump and other equipment?
What are the on going cost for security, maintenance and cleaning services? What is the projected monthly HVAC costs for this field house?
There exists ample space in the recreation building on Heyers Mill Road for meetings. The library down stairs “meeting room” is generally also available. As a tax payer I question the need for the expanded structure.
Our elected official’s have not openly discussed a modification or a scaled down reversion to support our budget. A cost cutting start would be eliminating the ceremonial dedication plaque to the Colts Neck Elected Officials.
Visit the library and the old town hall. Observe the slipshod condition of the deteriorating brick work on the front steps. Upkeep is not on the priority list for our elected officials but spending our taxes is!
Holmdel has done an excellent job in managing their taxes as well as its budget. Colts Neck Board of Education adopted an impressive budget with a near zero increase. The Colts Neck Town Committee’s approach is spend more and increase taxes.
Colts Neck elected officials like to keep things as clear as muddy water and scaling back on spending, does not correlate well with our current Colts Neck elected officials!
Kevin M. O'Brien
