Evesham Township Council is moving forward with plans to purchase a new location for the Department of Public Works yard catty corner to its current location on Evesboro Medford Road.
At its Aug. 16 meeting, council approved two ordinances that would allow the township to bond for the funds needed to purchase 15 acres of industrial land owned by Robert Lipinski at 100 and 120 Sharp Road for $6.1 million.
According to township manager Tom Czerniecki, the move comes at a time when the DPW’s current yard continues to cause inefficiencies, as the needs of the DPW have grown with the increasing number of residents and businesses in town.
The current DPW yard sits on about 5.2 acres with 35,000 square feet of floor space across three structures, but the new location measures 15 acres, with six structures and 50,000 square feet of floor space.
In the past, Czerniecki has noted that the current DPW yard has a limited amount of space for both township and resident vehicles to operate at the same time, which can often result in DPW employees being forced to spend time directing traffic.
Czerniecki has also previously outlined the growing amount of recycling material that is coming into the DPW’s yard, which can result in DWP employees needing to repeatedly fill and empty the same small containers because there isn’t space for anything larger.
“It takes a lot of maneuvering of vehicles to stage for whatever you’re trying to do,” Czerniecki said.
As part of the purchasing agreement, the current owners of the new property will also be responsible for adding to an existing garage at the property and constructing a new shed for salt storage.
Mayor Randy Brown also commented on the other major reason behind moving the DPW yard — the township expects the move to come at no cost to taxpayers at the end of the 23-year life span of the purchasing bond.
Once the township purchases the new property, it plans to continue leasing areas of the land to current tenants for an estimated $7.2 million by the end of bond. The township also estimates another $1.8 million to come from the sale of the current DPW yard and then an additional $1.5 million in estimated property taxes over the years on that property.
The township also estimates it could lease an additional portion of the new property for $770,000 over the life of the bond, with an additional $330,000 in property taxes.
The township estimates that combined revenue from the move would come to $11.6 million over the life of the bond, versus the estimated $9.9 million the township estimates for debt service and bonding fees.
Brown said he believes the move would be remembered as one of the top 10 major accomplishments in Evesham since he was first elected mayor.
“To be able to pay down a bond and have a property in two decades be free and clear — now you’re opening up possibilities of what you can do with that property in two decades instead of carrying debt,” Brown said.
Brown also drew a stark contrast between the managing of debt for the new DPW yard versus past township officials who purchased the Indian Spring Golf Course with no such plan in place.
Evesham Township carries about $1 million in debt a year due to the township-owned course, which Brown said would actually turn a profit of $600,000 to $700,000 a year if it were debt free.
“We’ve learned from the golf course debacle, so a new council in 20 years is not going to be upset with us,” Brown said.
According to Czerniecki, the township will now enter the “due diligence phase” where it will start conducting surveys of the new DPW yard property and environmental assessment before a bill of sale is signed.
He said he believes those studies could take about two months, with the overall goal to close on the property before the end of the year. He said actually moving the DPW yard to the new property would then come in phases after that.
