242 Trees Selected for Manalapan's Spring Planting

The bid opening for the Manalapan spring tree planting contract took place on March 31. Seven nurseries and landscaping companies sent in bids for the spring planting contract, but Barbato Nursery, located on Long Island, won the bid at $42,600 and was awarded the contract.

Shari Spero of CME Associates informed the Manalapan Shade Tree Commission of the spring planting contract results on Tuesday, April 12.

To Spero’s surprise, most of the bidders were not local, but from northern New Jersey. The highest bid submitted was $64,000; although this high number caused exasperated reactions from the commission, the price was not far off Spero’s approximation.

“That is closer to what I estimated. I estimated about $225 per tree. Barbato came in at $170-$190 per tree because he’s a nursery. A lot of the other guys have to buy them in and then they go and plant them for us,” Spero explained.

A total of 242 trees will be planted by the township. The majority of the trees being planted are for newly constructed homes, but some are replacement trees. Even though developers are now responsible for planting trees in neighborhoods, these trees were approved prior to that new ruling. 

Spero and another CME associate will make the three hour trip out to Wading River, NY to tag the trees at Barbato Nursery for the spring planting which will take place this May.