On the agenda for Council this week is a Resolution for Harbor Consultants to provide professional engineering, surveying and planning services for the Columbia Middle School Lower Fields Project.

Essentially this means the township is awarding a no-bid contract to a consulting firm to complete land surveying, environmental investigation and an engineering design for the field. Why this is just now being done raises serious questions for those paying attention and about what due diligence, if any, had been completed in the 5+ years this project has been in talk.

This resolution also authorizes a community volunteer, the Recreation Commission director (who does not have a township-issued email address, therefore making obtaining relevant records of business almost impossible) to execute the contract with Harbor.

The resolution also mentions account number #G-02-28-370-600 with remaining funds of $32,460 for the project. It is unclear if these funds were left over from the Township grant announced in 2024 in the amount of $71,000 for ‘improvements to Lower Columbia.

It’s ironic that I emailed the township just last week about whatever happened with these funds and if they had been spent, to please identify the projects completed and costs associated with the work. (In case you’re wondering, no – I did not get a response, but that is the norm these days).

As we previously reported, the Township Attorney noted that the perceived Land Lease Agreement between the Board of Education and the Township was not actually a lease but a shared service contract “stylized” as a lease.

So, does the township even legally have the right to be proceeding with any projects?

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