Bidding Glitch Creates Slight Delay in Rebuild of Brick Township Park

Mallard Point Park, Brick, N.J., Oct. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

An error in the bid solicitation for the reconstruction of Mallard Point Park will delay the project only slightly, township officials said at a recent council meeting.

Last month, the governing body voted unanimously to solicit bids for the park’s reconstruction, which has already been held up for years due to the slow pace of permit issuances by the state and federal governments. Fortunately, officials say, the glitch in the bid solicitation is minor and construction is still slated to get underway after Labor Day.

“We had an error in the bid for the playground, so that bid is going back out, and after it goes back out, we should be ready to roll,” said Mayor Lisa Crate. “We’re hoping in September we can start the ball rolling so the kids have someplace to play in the spring.”

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The park, on Tunes Brook Drive, consists of a beach, playground and dock, but has become significantly deteriorated over the years. It is located along the Tunes Brook branch of Kettle Creek, in the southernmost portion of the township. The impending project will add areas for fishing, kayaking and crabbing, as well as a “tot lot” play area for small children. The deteriorating dock will be removed, and a new rip-rap breakwater and engineered shoreline will be added in a similar layout to Bay Harbor Park. The restoration design will support plant and marine life, officials said.

Mallard Point Park, Brick, N.J., Nov. 2021. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Though the latest delay is minor, Crate explained the circumstances of years of previous delays in response to a question from a resident.

“We had issues with the DEP, we had issues with the Army Corps, and there was another special reason why they couldn’t dredge at the time,” she said. “That was finally resolved around May or June of this year, when we got sign-off from the Army Corps that we could proceed.”

“Every time something was required from us, we sent it in, and it sat up with the state for months and months until they got to it,” Crate added.

The resident requested, in the mean time, that township officials cut the grass in the area since it has become a bit overgrown.

“If there are things that need to be cut down or trimmed, they can take care of things like that,” Crate said.