A plan to refurbish Point Manalapan’s gatehouse has stalled, frustrating landscape committee members and the man who volunteered to pay for at least part of the project.
Committee chairwoman Daryl Cheifetz told town commissioners at their Oct. 25 meeting her panel met three times with landscape architect John Lang “and kept following and following up.”
But they’ve never seen a rendering of their ideas.
“The bottom line to this is Mr. Lang has never generated anything for it,” Cheifetz said, asking commissioners to at least put in new pavers in a mud puddle trucks have created.
The issue came up in May when the town had a low bid of $3,124 for the paver work. Cheifetz complained that Manalapan kept making patchwork repairs to the entrance way, and resident and developer Stewart Satter offered the use of his landscape architect for free.
“Perhaps, depending on the expense … I may even fund the ultimate project,” he said at the time.
Lawyer Ken Kaleel, representing Satter, said there are plans that can be submitted and that Satter has paid Lang more than $5,000, which “for a landscape plan for that little gatehouse is a lot.”
“I think there was a lot more back and forth that went on than meets the eye,” said Kaleel, who also is mayor of Ocean Ridge.
“If there is a plan I don’t know why I don’t have it,” Cheifetz said. “And there was not a lot of back and forth. There was a lot of forth and pursuing of Mr. Lang by emails, phone calls.’’
Commissioner Louis DeStefano, who is friends with Satter, said Satter thought the whole project would be no more than $15,000 but the ensuing discussions were for something grander.
“The architect has told him that what the committee is coming back and told the architect to do [is] in the range of six figures,” Kaleel said.
Kaleel promised to have a plan for commissioners at their November meeting. In the meantime the town will do interim repairs, perhaps filling the puddle with gravel.
“Residents are complaining, and we keep putting it off and putting it off,” said Town Manager Linda Stumpf. “This needs to get something in there.”
Cheifetz said the committee never expected Satter to pay for anything but the plans.
“He’s not too pleased with the result, what’s happened right now,” Kaleel said, “because he feels like he’s tried and attempted to do something good, and now it’s looking a little bit differently.” Ú
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