By ROBERT LINNEHAN
One resident described last week’s work session meeting as one of the most “productive” in the past year in regards to the new township municipal complex program. Nothing concrete was agreed upon, but members of the township council, task force, and Ragan Design Group, an architecture firm, have a clear direction to move forward in regards to a new complex.
What resulted from the meeting was a dedication to move forward with the first phase of the project, which would be to ready schematics for a new township library and administration building bordering Washington Avenue. The three bodies in the design and debate over the municipal complex were brought together for an update meeting Thursday morning.
The two buildings, Ragan, would be able to share facilities, rooms, and IT equipment.
Early designs have the library facility at just over 24,400 square-feet, Ragan said. Earlier in the week John O’Meara, a member of the Moorestown Friends of the Library, said in a perfect world that the new facility would have about 33,000 square-feet.
“At that size you might as well just forget about another aspect of the project,” Ragan said. “It’s a whole new project.”
Administration employees have told Ragan they need about 13,500 square-feet in the new town hall to be productive.
Ragan gave some rough estimates as to cost as well, reporting that the new library and town hall would cost about $10 million total to construct.
The biggest point of contention in the meeting was a discussion over what should be done about the existing recreation center. Ragan discussed the possibility of revamping the current recreation center at the complex and possibly constructing a $1.2 million addition to upgrade the facility, instead of completely tearing the building down and building a new one from scratch.
If the council wishes to bring the current building up to code, Ragan said he would most likely have to hire additional professionals to go through the structure. It would cost between $16,000 and $18,000 and take between two to three months, he said.
Mayor John Button said the decision for the recreation center shouldn’t hold up the entire process. It can be discussed as the process moves forward with the library, town hall, and police station.
“We’re never going to build a perfect building,” he said. “We have to make a decision and go forward.”
