Council listened to a proposal that would turn the open space across from Town Hall into a green with a pavilion, brick walking path and benches.
Grab a book from the library, a cup of coffee from Main Street and sit on a bench or under a shady pavilion across from Town Hall. This was the scenario presented at the Monday, Feb. 5, Moorestown Township Council meeting as council engaged in a preliminary discussion on the use of the former library space.
Township Manager Thomas Merchel said Scott Taylor, vice president of Taylor Design Group, has been working on how the township can utilize the open space adjacent to the Church Street Recreation Center and put together the proposal for a “Town Hall Green,” which he brought before council last Monday night.
Taylor said over the last several years, there has been a great deal of discussion about how to utilize the open space adjacent to the Recreation Center and across from Town Hall.
“I know when we started working on the shared parking study there were ideas that this could help support and buoy the economic vitality of Main Street,” Taylor said. “I think there’s a great opportunity to create a multigenerational space here.”
Taylor presented the concept of a “Town Hall Green,” which he said is a term they use in lieu of square since the space is not square in shape. Taylor proposed the concept of a raised pavilion, which would be attached to the Church Street Recreation Center. He said this shaded area could be used for summer camp programming, municipal employees who want to grab lunch outside or for small events such as career fairs.
He also suggested utilizing the pavilion as a space to project movies or to host small concerts. He said these types of events could help market Main Street and encourage people to come downtown.
Taylor proposed putting brick or decorative paving around the perimeter of the space with benches along the walking path. He also suggested lining the exterior of the space with high shade trees.
Additionally, Taylor said he thought an information kiosk and decorative seat wall with Moorestown Township signage could create a “strong sense of arrival to the whole Town Hall complex.”
The proposed green comes on the heels of work on the handicapped accessible ramp at the Church Street Recreation Center. Merchel said last year, he requested funding to repair the handicapped accessible ramps, which are showing signs of wear. He said the township plans to demolish the existing ramp and build a new ramp. He said they will receive bids to fund the project within the next week.
Taylor also suggested improving the recreation center’s entrance as part of the Town Hall Green project. He said as it currently stands, the building’s entrance is not as clear as it could be but could be improved by adding an overhead roof structure and new signage.
“Because this historically was a school and this was not the main entrance — this was actually a breezeway into the other school — that entrance is sort of hidden a little bit, and with all those walls and rails and stuff, you almost feel like you’re going into a loading dock a little bit,” Taylor said.
Merchel said they were looking into county grants to help fund the project.
“This is the early concept,” Merchel said. “This will come back again during the budget — capital budget. We just wanted to see if council liked this idea.”
The proposal was met with enthusiasm by council.
“Overall, I love the idea of the space,” Councilman Michael Locatell said.
The cost of the proposal was not mentioned at Monday night’s meeting.
In other news:
• John Gibson, chairman of the Tree Planting and Preservation Committee, said the tree committee is working on an ordinance that would outline consequences for residents who remove township trees.
“Currently, there is nothing we can find in the ordinances that if someone wants to take down a township tree there’s no consequences for someone destroying Moorestown Township property,” Gibson said.
He said under the committee’s proposed ordinance, residents would have to file for a permit to remove a township-owned tree.
Director of Community Development Anthony Zappasodi said his office is in favor the ordinance and is working with the committee on minor language changes before they bring the ordinance to council.
• The next Moorestown Township council meeting will take place on Monday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall.
