Berkeley Heights is reshuffling the money behind its $395,900 Littell-Lord Farmhouse restoration for the third time since July.
The Town Council's upcoming agenda includes Resolution 2026-288, which would again change which grant accounts pay for the exterior restoration and structural stabilization work by contractor Dell-Tech Inc. The contract price stays the same. Only the funding sources keep moving, nj21st.com first reported Sunday, Sept. 13.
The council originally approved the Dell-Tech contract in July through Resolution 2026-257. It amended the funding once in August through Resolution 2026-275. The September proposal would be the second amendment, making three distinct funding plans for the same contract in roughly two months.
What's changing
Under the latest proposal, four grant sources shrink. The Historic Preservation 2019 Match drops $7,430.09. The 2017 Preserve Union County Grant drops $10,000. The 2025 Preserve Union County Grant drops $20,000. The NJ Historic Grant 2024 (COVID) drops $13,291.91. Those cuts total $50,722.
That $50,722 shifts entirely to the NJ Historical 2024 account, raising it from $197,870 to $248,592.
The 2017 and 2025 Preserve Union County grants were added to the funding plan just last month. Now they are being reduced again, with no public explanation from township officials for the repeated changes.
Architect contract also reworked
A separate resolution for Connolly & Hickey Historical Architects, the firm overseeing the restoration, is also being amended. Resolution 2025-230 covers $82,850 in architectural services. The council adopted it July 15, 2025.
Under the proposed changes, the 2019 Historic Preservation grant increases by $1,928.42. The 2021 Historic Preservation Grant and the Littell-Lord Farmstead Green Acres allocations are eliminated. New funding from the 2017 and 2025 Preserve Union County grants, the 2024 Historical (COVID) grant and NJ Historical funds replaces them.
The pattern mirrors the Dell-Tech resolution: grant sources removed from one contract appear to be landing in the other.
Restoration work underway
The township posted Thursday, Sept. 10 that restoration work at the farmstead was progressing and would wrap up in time for the 5th Annual Littell-Lord Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The Littell-Lord Farmhouse dates to about 1760 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Berkeley Heights acquired the property in 1975 with a Green Acres grant requiring it remain public parkland.
Residents with questions about the funding changes can contact Mayor Angie Devanney, Township Administrator Liza Viana, Council President John Foster or any council member. The council's next meeting date has not been confirmed publicly, but the agenda item suggests a vote during the week of Sept. 15.
