Moorestown Council Concerned About Costs Related To Wesley Bishop Park Additional Improvements

Moorestown, NJ -- Moorestown Council isn’t making any quick decisions on a change order to add funding to the Wesley Bishop Hockey Rink No. 1 improvement project.

Council approved a resolution to authorize borrowing money from the Moorestown Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund for improvements to the hockey rink during its meeting Monday night.

The resolution proposed borrowing no more than $125,000 from the fund, and council would’ve considered a resolution to replenish the fund early next year.

However, council tabled a consent agenda resolution approving the change order, hoping to get some of the costs related to the project significantly reduced.

The funding would’ve been used to pay for certain features that were left out of the initial project plans, including $25,000 for a gate, $80,000 for a shelter and some electrical work.

The resolution was needed because there are no more meetings scheduled for the rest of the year so there wasn’t enough time to introduce and pass a bond ordinance, according to Township Manager Scott Carew.

He also said that the hockey season is already underway, and the township would like to move on the improvements as soon as possible.

However, town council expressed concern about the cost.

“Eighty thousand dollars for a shelter is not even close to what it should be,” Councilwoman Stacey Jordan said. “This needs to be whittled down a lot.”

“We need to get to the table and get these numbers back to something more manageable,” Mayor Phil Garwood said.

The add-ons were originally included in the plans when the township, the Moorestown Youth Street Hockey Association (MYSHA) and the contractor sat down to discuss the project.

However, the finalized plans weren’t shared with MYSHA, who would’ve picked up on what was missing right away.

Councilman Manny Delgado said better communication will be needed to make sure similar situations don't arise in the future.

Resident Ed Begg questioned why open space funding was being used for the project.

While Chief Financial Officer Tom Merchel said recreation is a permitted use for open space funding, Deputy Mayor Victoria Napolitano pointed out that council would be replenishing the fund.

She said that while it meets the letter of the law, using funds in this way violates "the spirit of the law."