Engineer Endorses High Bidder for Memorial Park Redesign

The Livingston Township Engineer endorsed a $62,000 bid Monday to make over Memorial Park, but some council members were skeptical of the high price tag.
 
Assistant township engineer Jeannette Harduby gave her stamp of approval last night to Arterial LLC, landscape architects and planners out of Montclair, to design what Memorial Park will look live for decades to come. The price of her recommendation, however, was nearly double that of two other consulting firms competing for the job. 

"I think we go with the low bidder most of the time," said Harduby. "In this instance, when we reviewed the proposals, we thought that Arterial offered more. We felt they had really innovate ideas," such as vegetable gardens and farmers markets. 

The township is in the beginning stages of creating a master plan to redesign Memorial Park, located in front of Livingston High School, and potentially the surrounding areas such as Madonna Park. The council heard competing bids and visions for the park Monday evening from three consulting firms: Arterial, Maser Consulting and Hatch Mott MacDonald. 

There were additionally six other firms that submitted bids for the job who were not present at the council meeting. Those bids ranged from a low of $32,860 to a high of $105,000. 

While community input is still needed, the council repeatedly voiced its support for improving walking paths, rebranding and creating more of a continuity between the different elements in the park. The township will hold future community meetings to hear what recommendations residents have for Memorial Park, which will be incorporated into the final design, said Township Manager Michele Meade.  

"Really we are looking to generate information from groups that use the park, which are many township organizations, township departments and just general residents," said Meade. 

The overall cost of Arterial's proposal made the council wary of Harduy's choice. Deputy Mayor Michael Rieber and Councilwoman Deborah Shapiro seemed uncertain of investing in Arterial whose bid, $62,180, was nearly double that of Maser Consulting, $35,000, and Hatch Mott MacDonald, $28,250.

"Do you think it was worth double?" asked Rieber. 

"I think we all agree it was a very creative approach," said Shapiro of Arterial, "but, again, twice as much seems a bit much." Shapiro added that Maser Consulting and Hatch Mott have done various projects in the township in the past. 

Harduby said she first considered "the quality of the proposal and services offered, qualifications of the project team and the firm" first, and then took into account the cost of the projects. While Arterial, who has recently designed nearby projects including Montclair's South Park Street, offered a higher bid, Harduby said she believed it will be worth the extra cost. 

"I know Arterial is not the low bidder, but I thought they proposed a superior master plan," said Harduby. "I thought that they proposed a really robust set of services … and novel approaches to customer service."