Moorestown In No Danger Of Losing Lenola Grant, Contractor Says

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Despite recent delays, Moorestown is in no danger of losing grant money that it has received for the Lenola Town Center Landscape Improvement Project, a representative from McCormick-Taylor told Township Council Monday night.

The project, which focuses on revitalizing a quarter mile of the Lenola Town Center Camden Avenue corridor, is in the final design phase right now, Vittorio Anapete said during Monday night’s council meeting.

A town hall to gather public input will take place in March. The final plans are due to NJ Local Aid by June 1, and McCormick-Taylor will be looking to go out to bid for the project in the fall.

“It’s taking longer than we would have liked, but that’s the nature of a federal grant,” Anapete said. “We are not at risk of losing grant funding.”

The funding is in the form of a $971,500 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) for construction and a federal design grant of up to $366,000. Read more here: $1.5M Bond Ordinance For Lenola Project In Moorestown Approved

The township has already received the TAP grant. In early 2019, it had two contractors set to work on the project, but after the majority of council changed parties in January of that year, council opted to pursue a second federal grant for about $360,000 to cover the cost of the development of plans, specifications and estimates for the plan.

In order to do so, though, the township had to appoint a professional from a pool of six engineering design consultants selected by the state. That professional was McCormick Taylor. Read more here: McCormick Taylor Named Lenola Project Design Consultant

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down all projects in 2020. In September of this year, Township Council approved a resolution for design. NJDOT gave the go-ahead for the final design Nov. 30.

Anapete said he didn’t know why the NJDOT approval took so long after the September approval, but said they were moving as quickly as they can. Even if they miss the June 1 deadline, they won’t miss out on the grant. They want to meet the deadline so they can finish the project in 2022, Anapete said.

The update came after resident Roger Boyell asked about the pace of the project at a previous council meeting. Mayor Nicole Gillespie said on Monday she would like council to receive more consistent updates about the project.