For more than a decade, the Friends of Percheron Park have waited patiently to bring their vision for a pocket park on Main Street to life. Puritan Oil Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Global Partners LP and the party responsible for soil remediation at the site, believes its remediation efforts are at an end, and as they await the green light from the Department of Environmental Protection, the Friends aren’t wasting any time.
At last Monday’s council meeting, the Friends discussed the next steps needed to bring the park to life. While the Friends currently have a handle on element costs, they’re seeking the township’s assistance in calculating construction estimates for the space.
Township Manager Thomas Neff said Puritan Oil has removed the contaminated dirt from the site and replaced it with clean fill. According to Neff, Puritan has plans to submit an application to DEP within the next month, but an official sign off from DEP could take between four and six months.
Kathy Logue, president of the Friends of Percheron Park, said the township purchased the Main Street location – formerly the site of a gas station – in 2008. At the time, the township was told it would take around four to six years to complete remediation. In 2013, the Friends received estimates for construction costs, elements of the park and a life-sized bronze station of a Percheron horse.
“Obviously, costs have increased since our estimates of 2013,” Logue said
Recently, the Friends have been working to update these cost elements. Logue said they’re able to calculate the cost for the statue, landscaping, the historical marker and impressions that will be installed, but they no longer have a construction person on their board. For that reason, they’re looking to have the township’s engineer gather information about the park’s technical specifications.
The park will feature a life-sized bronze statue of a Percheron stallion because, in 1839, Moorestown native Edward Harris II brought the first Percheron stallions to the United States from France. Logue said this statue represents their greatest cost increase with the sculpture’s price having gone up by nearly $30,000 since 2013.
The Friends currently have $95,000 in a local bank, and they have plans to start another fundraising push in the near future. While they have enough to cover many of the elements, Logue said at present moment, they don’t have enough for the project’s entirety.
“It was always our intention to cover 100 percent of the public park with private funds, but unfortunately, eight years down the road, costs have increased, and the situation changes,” Logue said.
Gina Zegel, one of the Friends’ board members, said they were coming before council to ask for support.
“We really wanted some feedback as to your ability to help us finish this project financially,” Zegel said.
Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano said she appreciated the group’s diligence in pursuing the project despite the delays.
“We definitely should be doing everything we can to bring this project to completion,” Napolitano said. “The amount of money that this group has raised for a public park is unprecedented.”
Neff said the project has garnered a lot of local interest, and the hope is that with a new wave of public awareness, they’ll get closer to fully fundraising the project. He said by spring, they’re hoping to have a better idea of the balance they’ll need to get them over the finish line.
“The goal of everybody is to get it done through private resources if we can,” Neff said.
The next meeting of Moorestown Township Council will take place on Monday, Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall.
