Mayor Randy Brown and the property mangers of the affordable housing apartment complex on Sharp Road might have to agree to disagree.
At the most recent meeting of Evesham Township Council, Brown used words such as upset, disappointed and embarrassed as he described a lack of grass in yards at the complex and the general lack of upkeep of the complex’s landscape.
“They had hay spread all around when I was there three weeks ago — hay,” Brown said.
It was for those reasons that Brown said he was voting to table a motion that would release a maintenance guaranty for the Sharp Road complex regarding landscaping improvements.
Brown specifically named complex property manager Moorestown Ecumenical Neighborhood Development Inc. as he criticized the group, which opened the 104-unit complex in 2009.
“I’m embarrassed to no end that this project has been out there for years — you would think they would know how to grow grass by now,” Brown said. “You would think they would know how to trim shrubs by now.”
However, when asked for comment, MEND President and CEO Matthew Reilly said he was surprised by Brown’s comments.
Reilly said MEND has been working “diligently” with the township’s engineers at Remington & Vernick, who sent a letter to the township finding no objection to releasing the maintenance guaranty having found landscape improvement to be in satisfactory condition.
“We were surprised when the mayor said that because Remington & Vernick has sent the letter that we had taken care of all outstanding matters,” Reilly said.
Reilly said MEND acknowledges that it’s had challenges over the years maintaining grass, but said the complex does not have an underground irrigation system and was not permitted to install one when building the project due to participating in an energy conservation program recommended by the state.
Reilly also had an explanation for the hay Brown mentioned.
“As part of an attempt to augment the grass, we were covering seedlings with the hay in the hopes that it would germinate more quickly and stronger,” Reilly said.
Brown also criticized what he said were broken curbs and laundry lines strewn about, and said regardless of whether the complex is classified as affordable housing, those living there deserve grass, and curbs and sidewalks that weren’t broken.
Reilly said he was not aware of any broken curbs or sidewalks, and while each apartment has a small patio or balcony, the hanging of laundry lines is not permitted.
Councilman Ken D’Andrea said he agreed with Brown about the lack of upkeep for the landscape at the Sharp Road complex, and said it didn’t serve as a reflection for the township as a whole, despite serving as a literal entry point for the town for those driving from neighboring Mt. Laurel and Medford.
“We talk about signage for all entry points that say ‘Welcome To Evesham.’ Well, right now, it doesn’t really show that,” D’Andrea said.
Reilly defended the site as green — not barren or dirt — but said as a result of the mayor’s comments, the group has asked its landscaping contractor to take another look and see if there are more improvement recommendations.
Speaking from a policy perspective, Brown said “the horse might have left by this point,” as he wasn’t sure if there was anything council could do to affect the issue, but he would defer to township officials.
“I’m going to turn to Tom and Nancy (Township manager Tom Czerniecki and director of community development Nancy Jamanow) to give us direction in the weeks to come, but somehow that property has got to look better than it does today,” Brown said.
Reilly said he hoped to work with the mayor and township.
“We’re not opposed to grass, there’s a lot of grass there, and we’ll see what our landscapers come up with,” Reilly said.
