The board, in the past, has come under fire for its practice of hiring firms to perform services without competitive bidding, a practice that is allowed under the state’s “non-fair and open” contracting process. The two firms that appear on Thursday’s agenda have done work in the past for the district.
The bids in question will award contracts for civil engineering services for the Brick Township High School east parking lot construction project, architectural services for a roof replacement at the Warren H. Wolf Elementary School and architectural services for the Brick Township High School track rebuilding project.
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CHA Consultants will be paid $50,428.88 for the parking lot project. Netta Architects will be paid $81,000 for the roof project and $84,375 for the track project.
Both firms are politically active. Records from CHA Consulting have been subpoenaed as part of a federal investigation in New York, centering on whether a lobbyist steered companies to donate to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign. The Netta firm has held contracts statewide and was, for years, in the influential position as the architectural contractor for Union County government.