Police Station, Library Shuffle Possible In West Deptford: Officials

Editor's note: This story has been updated to fix grammar issues.

WEST DEPTFORD, NJ — The need for a new police station in West Deptford could mean the Free Public Library relocates, as officials consider moving police headquarters into the library's current home.

The library could move up to the Colonial Manor Fire Association firehouse in that case. Mayor James P. Mehaffey said this is one of several ideas that township officials are mulling over, as they consider costs and the needs of West Deptford Police.

The police department is operating out of a 5,000-square-foot space in the municipal building, Mehaffey said, and has needed more space for years. The mayor, a former West Deptford police officer and chief, said the department's space was too small when he joined in the 1980s.

"We can't keep kicking this can down the road," said Mehaffey, who was elected by majority to the mayoral position in 2022 and 2023.

The police department has 55 employees, he said. Having enough work space and evidence storage and secure holding cells is difficult in the current space, Mehaffey said.

"According to the state, with the size of our police department, we should be closer to 20,000 square feet," he told Patch.

The West Deptford Free Public Library is 18,000 square feet, and Mehaffey said moving the department there would be cheaper than building a new police station or buying/leasing a building.

Some patrons and residents voiced their opposition to this possibility at the Township Committee meeting on Feb. 1., and said officials have not been transparent about the planning process.

Right now, the library, police station, courthouse, Thorofare fire station, and municipal building are all close together.

Building a new police station from the ground up would also be about $17 million, Mehaffey said.

He continued that leasing or buying a different building for the police station and renovating it could cost upwards of $15 million, with more money needed for improvements at the library and municipal building.

The library also needs between $4 and $5 million in renovations, he said, and the municipal building needs at least $1-2 million for security upgrades.

Mehaffey said that moving the library up to Colonial Manor and having the police department relocate to the existing library would be cheaper, costing the township up to $17 million . The other two plans would be $20 million or more with all the improvements factored in, he said.

The Township Committee has not presented any official plans for the library or police station as of mid-February, though committee members did approve an agreement with the Colonial Manor Fire Association firehouse property in late December, meeting records show. If the township purchases the Colonial Manor firehouse, which is east of the high school, officials could choose to develop and/or sell it.

Three of the township's four volunteer fire departments had asked officials to acquire their buildings due to lack of volunteers, Mehaffey told Patch. One of these was Colonial Manor Fire Station.

The Colonial Manor property at 611 Academy Avenue is 11,200 square feet, Mehaffey said, and could be renovated to serve the library — though it would be a smaller space than the library occupies now.

That would allow for the current library building to transform for the police department's needs.

Nancy Miller, vice-president of the Friends of the Library, urged officials to have citizen input on what a new library would look like, including a subcommittee of citizens who could guide any changes.

Resident Marilyn Quinn said she thinks the library's use would go down if it moved to Colonial Manor. She said having a library in a central location is beneficial for the township.

"We need more than just restaurants and sports and meeting halls," Quinn said at the Feb. 1 meeting. "We need some kind of good information centralized."

Mehaffey and Police Chief John Chambers said the police station needs to be in a central location to keep response times equitable for all residents, and therefore the Colonial Manor firehouse would not suit.

"This area right here is the central location and gives us the most access points to every aspect of our township," Chambers said at the Feb. 1 meeting.

Mehaffey added that he does not think the library's current location is walkable for residents on the north and south ends of town.

He said officials need to make the most fiscally responsible decision for the entire township, and that prices go up every year.

"The need for a police department outweighs the need, at this point, to try and make a certain group happy," he told Patch.

The township committee has a work session meeting scheduled Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. with nothing appearing on the public agenda related to this matter. The next Free Public Library Board of Trustees meeting is Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.

Patch requested comment from representatives of the library board of trustees and from library staff.