Construction on Town Hall Should Begin by Fall, Designer Says

The head of the design team for Moorestown’s said bids for the project should be awarded sometime in September.

Rick Ragan, principal for Ragan Design Group, told council Monday construction documents for the project should be finished by the end of June. Soon after, bids will go out and he offered a tentative due date of Aug. 18 to receive bids, awarding them the following month.

Mayor John Button urged Ragan to speed up the process if possible.

“I would like for you to accelerate it,” the mayor said. “We’ve been leaning on this late June timeframe. We’re really trying to get the thing out there.”

Ragan indicated he and his team would do everything in their power to have the construction documents ready as soon as possible, but explained certain elements of the project are outside his control, including environmental monitoring of the groundwater at .

Testing at the site revealed oil tanks stored in the township maintenance garage had contaminated the soil in that area, Ragan said. All the contaminated soil was removed, but further testing of the groundwater indicated benzine levels that exceeded levels set by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Ragan said the most recent testing showed benzine levels just above DEP’s threshold. The township is waiting for the results of the latest round of testing.

However, he stressed there was “no anticipated delay” in the project progress due to the groundwater issue.

He also explained the design team has tweaked the building design to allow for the possible future installation of solar panels, as well as the removal of the archways shown in the previous design—at the suggestion of the township Appearance Committee—to create more of a “porch look” connecting the town hall and library sides of the building.

“It’s coming together well,” Ragan said.

He added that the design team is still working toward a goal of 30 percent energy savings in the new building.

Improvements to the , including the replacement of the gym floor and installation of new windows, should be ready to go out to bid in July, he said.