1. Executive Summary
The finite Rova Farms ledger reviewed for this audit contains approximately $896,792.82 in negative, non-void cost entries. $449,271.08 is marked Paid/Posted, $438,581.74 is marked Open, and $8,940.00 is a change-amount entry. Below, you are granted open-source access to browse through all of the transactions via and Excel sheet!
RECORDED NEGATIVE ENTRIES | PAID / POSTED | OPEN | NEGATIVE ENTRIES |
$896,792.82 | $449,271.08 | $438,581.74 | 29 |
2. Financial Breakdown
CATEGORY | PAID / POSTED |
Park Improvements | $555,219.00 |
Demolition | $190,818.00 |
Wetlands Delineation | $42,805.81 |
Design Services | $32,750.00 |
Architectural Services | $29,900.00 |
Feasibility Study | $26,699.99 |
Phase I Study | $18,600.02 |
Click the arrow in the bottom-right corner of any column header (i.e: A, B, C) to filter and sort the data!
3. Timeline
PERIOD | DOCUMENTED / ATTRIBUTED DEVELOPMENT |
2023 | The Township publicly described Rova Farms as a future park/cultural and recreational project. The finite ledger records demolition, wetlands work, and feasibility-study charges during 2023. |
2024 | The ledger records additional wetlands-delineation work, including $27,100 associated with Morgan Engineering & Surveying, plus Phase I work and the beginning of 'Park Improvement' entries. |
May 2025 | Public reporting states Jackson approved a $438,432 agreement with Morgan Engineering under Resolution 162-2025 for design and permitting work, including securing NJDEP and other agency approvals. |
September 2025 | Public reporting quoted Council Vice President Mordechai Burnstein saying DEP had put a “huge wrench” into prior plans because of wetlands. |
October 2025 | Township Council minutes reported that Morgan Engineering had met onsite with the committee, "drainage design had begun", and DEP submission preparations were underway. |
November 2025 | Both the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Jackson Township receive OPRA requests from multiple individuals seeking Rova Farms wetlands delineations documentation and Letter of Interpretation (LOI) applications involving Morgan Engineering. NJDEP completes the request citing "no records found". |
| |
September 2026 — current | A September 21, 2026 Jersey Shore Online report quotes Council President Burnstein describing a recent Rova Committee meeting with a “new engineer” who updated the committee on the status of submissions. Burnstein said the Township had added a $2,885 bill to the Ocean County Soil Conservation District so the engineer could submit to NJDEP and the Ocean County Planning Board. |
4. Discrepancy within Documentation
The finite ledger includes approximately ~$42,805.81 in wetlands/delineation entries, including a particular $27,100 "wetland delineation" charge associated with Morgan Engineering & Surveying. Accordingly, a complete audit trail should therefore exist and identify the resulting professional work product: field data, survey/map, Letter of Interpretation applications or NJDEP submissions, agency correspondence, etc.
4A. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection OPRA
A public NJDEP OPRA request filed on November 6, 2025 specifically sought these supplementary wetland documentations and was subsequently closed on November 18, 2025 citing "no responsive records were located". This state request is public record— correspondence and available attachments are posted here: https://requests.opramachine.com/request/wetlands_delineation_records_rov/response/140787/attach/html/2/387262%20OPR250001%203239375.PDF.pdf.html
4B. Jackson Township OPRA
A resident of Jackson Township also filed OPRA Request No. 2026-166 in February 2026, seeking documentation surrounding the particular $27,100 'wetland delineations' charge to the Township. The resident reportedly received two photos depicting aerial maps of the Rova Farms property, one with visibly hand-drawn permanent marker annotations. This municipal request is public record— correspondence and available attachments are posted here: https://opramachine.com/request/rova_farms#incoming-146853
