Politics & Government

Not There Yet: Progress on Municipal Complex, but Details Still Unclear

Council eliminated new recreation construction from the plan, but was noncommittal on other aspects of the project.

Members of township council met early Monday morning to further bring into focus the details of the new municipal complex, but could not come to a consensus on an overall vision.

The meeting carried over a discussion begun at last week’s .

After two hours, council had decided to slim the project down slightly, eliminating proposed additions and improvements to the , instead focusing on maintenance issues like improved heating and air conditioning.

“(The rec center) should be left the way it is,” said Councilwoman Stacey Jordan. “It’s functional right now.”

Mayor John Button also said the building was “plenty good enough to last for a long time,” as long as certain improvements were made.

However, council was ambiguous regarding some of the more significant issues concerning the project, such as whether to combine municipal court and council chambers in the proposed Justice Center (the court/police department building) or in the township administration/library complex, or whether to combine them at all.

Button said he was in favor of keeping things as separate as possible, with law and order in one building and township offices and the in another.

But other members of council favored combining court and council chambers for the potential savings, though they were noncommittal on where to locate the blended meeting space.

“In a perfect world, with enough money, I like them separate,” said Councilman Chris Chiacchio, but added he was fine with a joint court-council chambers.

Some council members preferred having the courtroom in the Justice Center double as council chambers, rather than have court in the administration/library building because of the potential safety concerns with children and adults coming and going at the same time as defendants in court cases.

“It really does bother me that I could have my child running around the library and there’s court going on (next door),” said Councilman Michael Testa.

Other members of council downplayed those concerns, since court only meets a few times a month, and said court could have a separate entrance on a different side of the building.

Township Clerk Patricia Hunt and Acting Township Manager Tom Merchel also favored keeping council chambers in the administration building because the proximity to their offices would make their jobs easier.

“It really takes a lot of time when we’re not working on-site,” said Hunt.

Besides combining court and council chambers, Deputy Mayor Greg Gallo also proposed a number of ways to chip away at what he felt was the project’s bloated cost—around $18 million—suggesting the elimination of unnecessary meeting space in both the administration and library sides of the building.

“A lot of this project is, in my opinion, overbuilt, and more expensive than I plan to support,” he said. “If you sense a theme in my comments, our size (on the project) is a ‘nice to have,’ but we’re struggling to pay for it.”

On the other hand, Button said the project shouldn’t be “just about money.” He wants a complex that will tie into the character of the community.

Comments from a handful of residents seemed to validate Button’s position.

“I think after all this time, let’s not nickel and dime the project,” said Sandra McGuire, a member of the Moorestown Library Board of Trustees. “Let’s make it something we can be proud of.”

Resident Monique Begg told council, “Harmony matters … When you’re building buildings, it’s not just a building. If we’re not doing it right, why are we doing it?”

Council directed Dan Nichols, an architect with Ragan Design Group, the firm designing the complex, to tweak parts of the project plan to match the points from Monday’s discussion (i.e. trimming conference space, eliminating new recreation construction).

Council will meet at 6 p.m. Oct. 3, prior to its regular action meeting at 7:30, to continue the discussion.


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