The Voorhees Township Committee met for a virtual session on Sept. 14 and passed various resolutions dealing with the township’s ongoing plan to address sewer lines, the Ashland PATCO station, Voorhees Town Center and other issues.
One of the first resolutions on the agenda was to approve submission of a grant application with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission under the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. The funds would go to the Evesham Road Pedestrian Improvements Project in four municipalities: Cherry Hill, Somerdale, Lawnside and Voorhees.
According to township Administrator Larry Spellman, the four municipalities jointly agreed to the grant submission and project. If received, Spellman said he would expect part of the grant to cover design work.
There is currently no timeline for the four municipalities to receive word on a potential approval or denial of the grant, or when work would be expected to start, if approved. But it’s Spellman’s belief that projects encompassing multiple municipalities are usually a high priority.
“We don’t know any kind of a timeline for when they would possibly approve it, but then once they do and the funds are there, I’m told that this is the type of project that they salivate over because it’s multi-jurisdictional,” he said.
Later in the meeting, the committee approved two resolutions pertaining to its sewer department. The first would award the Sturbridge Lakes pump station force main replacement project to Pillari Brothers Corp. for $851,111. The bid was the lowest of five for the project.
“This has been in the works for several years to get this specific project done,” Spellman explained. “Our sewer master plan was put together in the last decade, listing out a step-by-step process of what gets done and in what order, and Sturbridge Lakes was next.”
Spellman said the project is currently expected to start sometime this fall if approved, and likely will take about six months to complete.
Also dealing with the township’s sewer projects, committee accepted a bid for the rehabilitation of approximately 8,244 linear feet of sanitary sewer pipe to Swerp Inc. for $169,870. The Pennsylvania-based company’s bid was the lowest of seven.
Spellman said in recent years, the township has attempted to be proactive in addressing sewer pipes, using a camera to scope out any potential problems and fixing soon-to-be compromised lines before they become a serious issue.
Starting last year, the township began a “resleeving” process, where the original pipe is cleaned out before a new pipe is inserted and expanded, thus creating a pipe without needing to dig. Spellman said the township already has plans to address other portions of the system for multiple years as it continues to address areas that need work.
According to the agenda, committee also rejected a Request For Proposal for the Voorhees Town Center Redevelopment Phase II Project from a Deal Point Merrill. Earlier this year, The Sun reported that Brandywine Acquisition and Development had terminated its purchase and sale agreement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brandywine had been working with the Voorhees Town Center’s current owner, Namdar Realty Group, to acquire the property for redevelopment of the former Echelon Mall.
According to Spellman, the township is continuing to search for a redeveloper of the Voorhees Town Center, however one is not expected to be found in the near future due to the ongoing pandemic.
Previously, the township had concluded a township survey investigating what residents’ hopes would be included at a revitalized Voorhees Town Center. Previous topics included a beer garden, indoor Jake’s Place, municipal library, potential e-Gaming and more.
