Moorestown Township Council appointed McCormick Taylor as the engineer design consultants for the Lenola Town Center Improvements Plan.
At its most recent meeting, Moorestown Township Council appointed McCormick Taylor as the engineer design consultants for the Lenola Town Center Improvements Plan. This marked a turn for the project as Taylor Design Group created the concept plan that helped Moorestown earn the $971,500 Federal Transportation Alternative Program Grant.
Township Manager Thomas Neff explained that if the township were to use one of its previously appointed engineers, the township would be responsible for those engineering costs. However, the township has since learned there is a separate DOT program that will reimburse it for its engineering costs if they use one of the state’s engineers.
Neff said township officials met with McCormick Taylor, read its proposals and found it to be competent for the job. McCormick Taylor has agreed to incorporate Scott Taylor of Taylor Design Group into the project to ensure there is continuity.
Judith Murphy, principal planner with Moorestown’s Department of Community Development, said at the community meeting held in October the township received positive feedback on the plan laid out by Taylor Design Group. When township officials met with county engineers, the county had proposed a two-way dedicated turn lane that would run the length of the project. Murphy said they showed them Taylor Design’s concept plan that did not include a turn lane, and they were “amenable to the concept plan,”
The plan, as presented in October, has the western boundary of the Pennsauken Creek where the township borders Maple Shade to the Lenola Road intersection receiving aesthetic and infrastructure upgrades.
Murphy said now that McCormick Taylor has been appointed, it can reach back out to DOT and move forward with the process. She said the next steps are to hold additional community meetings and getting authorization for the design documents.
“We have a deadline of June 21, 2019, for federal authorization to go to construction, so that’s our target date to have full design documents done and approved,” Murphy said.
Mayor Lisa Petriello inquired if the township is still on track to meet that deadline given the change.
“It’s tight, but I think we can still do it,” Murphy said.
Neff said with McCormick Taylor designated, the next step is for McCormick Taylor to give the township a formal proposal with its price schedule. From there, the township can negotiate those prices and come back to council at the Feb. 11 to ask for approval of the final, negotiated contract. In the interim, the township is setting up meetings with the new team and the state to keep the ball rolling and ensure the project stays on track.
Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano recommended the Lenola Ad Hoc Committee meet with representatives from McCormick Taylor to give them some background on the project and to make sure everyone is up to speed.
David Hess, a member of the Lenola Ad Hoc Committee, said committee members are worried about the state of the project.
“We are just concerned that this isn’t going to happen, and we want this to be sure it happens,” Hess said.
He said, at one time, the committee was meeting twice a month, and they’d be willing to meet twice a month again to make sure everything stays on track.
Fellow committee member Milton McFalls echoed the sentiment.
“I am really happy to see where we’ve come, and I want to be there to make sure it finishes,” McFalls said.
Petriello said they’re excited to move forward on the project.
“I think I speak for everyone up here when I say this is something we want to see happen; it’s been long overdue,” Petriello said.
The next meeting of Moorestown Township Council will take place on Monday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.
