By MADDY VITALE
City Council elected the leaders of the governing body Thursday, maintaining the status quo with President Bob Barr and Vice President Michael DeVlieger holding the same year-long posts they held the prior year.
The nominations, however, weren’t unanimous during Council’s annual reorganization meeting.
Councilman Pete Madden proposed to have Councilwoman Karen Bergman voted in as president. When that failed, he made a motion for her to preside on Council in the role of vice president. That motion also failed.
In other matters, Madden asked to add a resolution to the agenda. The resolution was for a professional services contract for ACT Engineers Inc., a Robbinsville, N.J., consulting company, to conduct a bathymetry survey of the back bays to determine the amount of silt buildup and depth of the water.
Council approved adding the resolution to the agenda after a discussion regarding how the no-bid contracts have been awarded to ACT over the years for a multitude of dredging projects.
Barr cast the sole dissenting vote on hiring ACT.
The resolution notes that ACT has done this type of work in the past and “has been determined to have the necessary expertise to perform these services.” The work is to be done at various city lagoons in the contract for $67,500.
According to a memo from ACT Vice President Eric Rosina, the bathymetry survey will take place between Blue Water Marina to North Point Lagoon. The company will survey the buildup of sediment in the lagoons and channels, including the bulkhead areas.
This is a precursor before the city embarks on its bayfront maintenance dredging program starting in the fall.
Prior to the vote, Council members spoke about their concerns with regard to contracts awarded to ACT over the years without seeking bids from other engineering companies to solicit potentially better prices.
Barr and DeVlieger have been outspoken about how they felt ACT received contracts without a bidding process conducted by Mayor Jay Gillian’s administration to solicit formal proposals from other companies for the work.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody. We are the only town in this county that does things this way. I have been asking for five months to do things a certain way, along with Mr. DeVlieger, on behalf of the majority of Council,” Barr said. “I have spoken to three engineers this week. I can’t in good conscience support this, but I am glad there are enough people to support this.”
DeVlieger said he doesn’t think “there is a single person up here who doesn’t want this dredging to go through.”
He said, however, “The matter in dispute is the way the administration went about driving this. We discussed we wanted things going out to bid because we felt there wasn’t an opportunity to let others get involved. The appearance was bad, and we had many complaints.”
A host of people in the audience were bayfront homeowners, boaters and business owners who have recently voiced concerns over the need to have dredging work continue, and wished for Council to allow ACT to continue to do the project or get another company on board to begin soon.
Councilman Jody Levchuk read a statement about ACT and noted that the governing body wants dredging to be done, but at the best price through a bidding process.
“I completely support and back our dredging needs. I have no issues with ACT engineering,” Levchuk said. “City Council fully understands the need to do this work. I fully understand this needs to be done. We have been working hard to make sure we are doing our job. I am going to move yes today.”
Levchuk added that he hopes that at the next Council meeting, additional information will be provided by the city administration with regard to steps being taken to solicit proposals from other vendors for the dredging work.
Resident George Robinson, a boater and owner of a boat business in Somers Point, had initially signed up to speak at the meeting Thursday.
However, when his name was called he spoke on behalf of those seated with him in the audience.
“We are good based on the resolution,” Robinson said, while supporting Council’s decision to hire ACT.
Councilman Tom Rotondi wanted to make it clear to the public that he represents all of the residents, not just select groups of people. He added that he is looking out for what is in the best interest of all, not just some taxpayers.
“I represent the people who own the boat slips and the people with beautiful homes on the bay, but I also represent the taxpayer on a fixed income. I am not here to represent any one group, (or) vendor,” Rotondi said.
For months, Madden has consistently said during Council meetings that ACT has a proven track record of doing good work for the city. He repeated his support for ACT on Thursday.
“So for about six years, ACT has overseen the operations and made sure the dredging has been done and everything has moved forward smoothly and cleanly,” Madden said. “Council is a check and balance of the administration. At the end of the day, we are there to be the check and balance, not to dictate what is done or get into an emotional battle. I am glad to see ACT move forward.”
Bergman, who, like Madden, has supported the administration’s desire to continue with ACT for the city’s dredging work, said, “I am happy to pass this through and I think this is a long time coming. ACT already started this project. I am really happy to move it forward and I thank the administration for moving this forward.”
Although Councilman Keith Hartzell has been a promoter of the idea of putting engineering contracts out to bid for the city to get the best price, he noted that it is important that the dredging program begins again.
“Tourism is our lifeblood and this needs to go forward,” Hartzell said.
Just a few people from the public spoke during the meeting at City Hall or via Zoom.
Resident Dave Beyel said of the actions taken by Council, “I’d like to thank the public officials for the common sense they have here understanding right from wrong.”
