Submissions for the Moorestown Library medallion mottos were reviewed and narrowed to a final eight. Those suggestions were presented to council members for their opinions at their meeting on Dec. 15. Also that night, Mayor Chris Chiacchio attended his final Moorestown Township Council meeting as a member after spending four years on council.
When the library opened earlier this year, there were some questions and concerns over the motto used on one of the medallions. The inscription was written in Latin, and according to the council and others involved, it translated to “We confirm all things twice.” However a concerned resident said the translation, when put into Google Translate, read, “We second guess everything.” From there, the issue gained attention all over the region.
So there would be no further confusion, the township decided to hold a contest to come up with a new motto to replace the confusing phrase. Students in Moorestown schools were invited to submit their mottos in Latin and one would be chosen to be inscribed on the medallion outside the library.
After the review of the Library Committee and changes made by the head of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, of the 61 suggested mottos, a final eight were brought before council by Rick Ragan of Ragan Designs, who helped with the library and town hall projects, for review and insights. Ragan made sure to note that all the sayings were Googled and not one of them translated exactly correct.
“It’s pretty interesting that all eight of these have changes made to them. So it’s not as easy as I think people think it is,” Deputy Mayor Stacey Jordan said.
Council members voiced their opinions on the phrases and pointed out one option they particularly liked. Ragan will bring the phrases to the Library Committee for a final decision before revealing the chosen student and phrase to the public. Ragan said the mottos are not available to the public because they wish to keep them a surprise.
“We would like to honor the selected person and invite the teachers to come in with their class to a council meeting,” Ragan said.
Honored that night was Chiacchio for his contributions to the town as well as his time on the council. Chiacchio was elected to council in 2010 and served as deputy mayor in 2013 and mayor in 2014.
Members of council spoke highly of Chiacchio, saying things such as “he was an outstanding member of the community” and “it was a great honor to work with you.” Ultimately, all members thanked him for his service.
Chiacchio thanked the members of council as well as Moorestown’s administration for their work and dedication to the town. Chiacchio may have left the township council, but he isn’t leaving the town.
“I’ll still be around. You’ll still see me on Main Street and around town,” Chiacchio said.
The next Moorestown Township Council meeting, on Monday, Jan. 5, will also be the reorganization meeting. Jordan will be sworn in to her next four years in office and Manny Delgado will be sworn into office for the first time. Also at that meeting the council will be tasked with electing a new mayor.
In other news:
• Council will take another vote on how to use the surplus from the sale of liquor licenses. Originally, it had a four-to-one vote to use the surplus for tax relief. However, there were numerous complaints made that procedures were not followed correctly and there was not adequate notice about the resolution being made that evening. Jordan said she was assured the procedure was done correctly, but to not seem like they didn’t follow procedure, they will put it up for vote again. Council will have the resolution listed on the Jan. 26 meeting and voted on then.
• The Lenola Advisory Commission made a presentation to the council, bringing up some concerns in need of review. Some of the items included broken and deteriorating curbs on Camden Avenue, unmarked and unprotected bus stops and a bent bus stop sign in front of the McDonalds on Main Street, a rusty mailbox owned by USPS on the corner of Camden Avenue and Lenola and holiday decorations that aren’t working or are in disorder. Jamie Boren, the presenter, suggested making improvements in the most cost-effective way possible. The commission was tasked with reviewing and making recommendations to council on the issues and problems of Lenola citizens.
• The next Moorestown Township Council meeting will be on Monday, Jan. 5 at the Town Hall with a workshop starting at 7 p.m.
