Letter to the Editor: Council Kept Its Promise With New Town Hall

To the Editor:

When Stacey Jordan and Chris Chiacchio ran for Town Council in 2010, a promise was made to the voters of Moorestown that the Town Hall project would finally be completed after years of waiting.

In 2012, as the process was beginning to move forward with a final plan for Town Hall, Phil Garwood and Victoria Napolitano made a promise to the people of our municipality that they would continue the work started by Council to see this project through to completion.

Today, these promises have been kept. This day marks a new beginning here in Moorestown, as the new Town Hall opens its doors to residents and, for the first time in seven years, the Moorestown Town Council held a meeting back on Second Street.

Residents are now able to pay their property tax and water bills at Town Hall, and our municipal employees are officially moved into their new offices. This facility boasts state-of-the-art security and computer systems, utilizes solar panels as a cost-efficient supplement to the boiler system, and will have a number of sustainability features including a green roof, two rain gardens, and an underground cistern to collect rainwater run-off to be used for lawn irrigation. Additionally, the new Council Chambers are equipped to record – and eventually broadcast – all meetings to the public.

Within the next few weeks, the Moorestown Library will also be moving into their new home within the new Municipal Complex. Their portion of the building includes radiant floor heat for areas like the children’s library, and has a permanent air-scrubbing system with ultraviolet light to kill bacteria and prevent odor problems like those experienced in the old library.

Instead of spending millions to renovate two aging and damaged structures, Moorestown was able to turn the unfortunate loss of the old Town Hall into an opportunity. We built a new Municipal Complex that brings our town solidly into the 21st Century, and were able to have the entire project completed on time and under the original estimated budget. We enter this building knowing that it is an investment that will last for years to come, and is one we are proud to put forward as an example of the Moorestown spirit.

Mayor Chris Chiacchio

Deputy Mayor Stacey Jordan

Councilman Phil Garwood

Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano