The Moorestown Township Council took a big step last night as it agreed to a firm direction for the municipal complex project in town. The council agreed to pursue a plan that would combine the library, administration, and courtroom into one facility.
Council listened to Rick Ragan of Ragan Design Group as he walked them through a design, which would combine the three elements into one “L” shaped building in between Second and Third Streets, bordering Church Street. With the decision to move forward with this option, the council gave Ragan direction to come back with more detailed plans about the municipal complex.
The combined library, administration, and courtroom will be about 47,120 square feet, Ragan said. The majority of the space will be used for the library facility, which will be about 26,000 square feet.
Ragan said the building will total about $12.7 million to complete. This does not include refurbishments to the recreation building or police station, he said. Ragan said earlier in the meeting that a refurbishment of the recreation center — which includes using the current building — and keeping the same police department facility will likely add about $3.4 million to the project for a total of more than $16 million for the municipal complex.
The Moorestown Friends of the Library have pledged $250,000 for the project, Recording Secretary John O’Meara said, but not for bricks and mortar. The donation would go towards programs and additional space, he said.
“We are also happy and willing to help raise extra money within the community,” he told council.
When council approved the direction, a round of applause went up from the audience who came for the special meeting.
The facility would include two conference rooms, both at 671 square feet each, and a courtroom, which would double as a council meeting room, and hold 135 people.
The biggest change presented is the shape of the building, which is now in an “L” shape. A township group looked at the originally conceived plan — which was just one long straight building — and said it didn’t fit into the mold of other township buildings. It was simply too big and too long, Ragan said.
This new facility cuts down the length of the building and actually allows for more sunlight into the building and a reading space outside, Ragan said.
For the recreation building, a third floor would likely be added, which would cost about $90,000. A new HVAC unit to heat and cool the gym is necessary, as well as refurbishments to the existing offices and a new video monitoring system. The entire refurbishment is being estimated at about $549,000, Ragan said, with $200,000 being used for the new offices and $349,000 for the HVAC system and other maintenance issues.
Ragan gave a detailed schedule — which obviously could change — for the remaining project. Ragan said his firm would look at design development from October to December of this year, then move into drawings and sketches from February to March of 2012.
If everything is on schedule, Ragan said the township would go out to bid in March, receive bids by late May or early June.
The next special meeting for the municipal complex will be held at the town hall on Monday, Oct. 17 at 8 a.m.
