Community Corner

PREIT Hosting Teleconference to Field Liquor Questions

Have a question or a concern? Keep the line free Thursday night.

Registered Moorestown voters who want to hear and/or be heard as it relates to the November liquor license referendums will get their chance Thursday night.

By hosting a "Telephone Town Hall," PREIT (Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust) president Joe Coradino will give the roughly 6,000 registered voters (with listed phone numbers) in town an opportunity to voice their concerns and ask their questions. 

Coradino has already spoken before smaller groups including the , Moorestown Rotary and residents of the Collins Park neighborhood—all of which he says went well. 

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But as part of its effort to communicate with and get its pro-referendum message out to the widest population possible at one time, PREIT—which owns the Moorestown Mall—saw the tele-town hall as the most effective way to do so.

"We're looking to communicate as much as possible and we thought this was the best way," said Coradino. "I don't see it as a cop-out. I see this as an efficient way to provide a forum and answer questions."

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The call begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Shortly before the call starts, residents will receive a call with a pre-recorded message from Coradino, after which they will be asked to opt in to the call, said Chris Russell, spokesman for Property Tax Relief for Moorestown, the citizens arm of PREIT's campaign.

At any point during the call, residents will be able to signal, by pressing a button on their phone, that they want to ask a question. Instructions for how to do this will be provided at the beginning of the call.

Russell likened the process to a call-in on a radio program.

Calls will not be screened to determine whether they're pro- or anti-referendum, Russell said. He and Coradino hinted that they anticipate members of the opposition will chime in.

"We're not looking to stifle debate with this. We'll look to encourage opinions," said Russell. "The only way we'll be able to prove that is in the pudding."

"So far we've not had a lot of direct challenge from the opposition … I keep being prepared for it," said Coradino. "I welcome it, by the way."

Moorestown resident William Cox against the township and Burlington County clerk to block the referendums from the ballot. A hearing in that case for Oct. 13 in front of Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder in Mount Laurel.

PREIT will file its own legal papers arguing against Cox's complaint. 

Coradino acknowledged Tuesday the truly passionate foes of the referendum won't be swayed by his campaign. 

"At the end of the day, we're focused on the folks that are on the bubble," he said. "Ultimately what we're trying to do on this call is get as many questions dealt with as possible." 

The call will last for about an hour. 

Coradino said PREIT will also have a booth at the Autumn in Moorestown festival Saturday and he's scheduled to speak to a couple more community groups.


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