Moorestown Council Settles Little Woods Renaming Issue

MOORESTOWN, NJ - The question surrounding how to preserve Silas Little’s legacy connected with the Little Woods trail and how to honor Moorestown open space champion Barbara Rich has been settled.

Moorestown Council settled on renaming the trail “The Barbara Rich Preserve at Little Woods” at its meeting Monday night. The compromise came after much discussion and disagreement and a pair of votes.

Deputy Mayor Nicole Gillespie proposed the amended name early on during Monday night’s continued public hearing. Council members Mike Locatell and Victoria Napolitano disagreed with the name change, and even voted against amending the name.

The vote was 3-2 on whether to change the proposed name, with Democrats Gillespie, Mayor Lisa Petriello and Councilman Brian Donnelly in favor and Republicans Locatell and Napolitano opposed. However, the tally was 5-0 when it came to enacting the name change.

“It never should’ve come to this,” Locatell said before the vote to enact the name change. “This is a vote on pushing back on the political theater we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks vs. honoring Barbara. I resent it, but I will reluctantly vote yes.”

The controversy began at the Feb. 11 council meeting, but the process began in December when Moorestown Council introduced a resolution to name the trail in honor of Rich, who has been fighting tooth-and-nail for open space causes in Moorestown since the 1970s.

In January, the council with two new members passed the proposed ordinance on introduction with no fanfare. However, between first and second readings, Gillespie learned that the trail had been named after Little, who is best known for his work with the Lebanon Experimental Forest in New Lisbon from 1937 to 1979. He studied the forest and helped develop solutions to problems in New Jersey that occurred as a result of the environment.

Many people were unaware that the trail was named after him, including members of council. When Gillespie began receiving calls, she began researching the trail's naming history and found that Little previously owned the trail. On Feb. 11, council tabled the issue after some debate so his family could be consulted. Read more here: Little Woods Renaming Put On Hold Amid Debate In Moorestown

One of Little’s grandchildren spoke during the public hearing on the proposal.

“We are proud of his accomplishments,” she told council. “He has been a steward of Little Woods for over 40 years. This experience has given me the chance to learn about Barbara Rich and all the wonderful things she’s done. We are blessed to be part of a community with two people who have given so much.”

She wanted the township to be able to find a compromise, and for the family to be involved in some kind of signage concerning Little.

Other members of the public spoke, including members of Save The Environment of Moorestown (STEM), who supported Gillespie’s proposed name change. Opinion among the public was split on whether the old proposed name should be used or the new one. When Gillespie’s proposal was ultimately chosen, Napolitano voiced concern over how long it took council to pass the ordinance.

“I implore council to keep things moving forward,” Napolitano said, noting that the change in the name was a minor change. “I don’t want to lose ground. Let’s not go back to the drawing board on things we’ve already decided on when we still have a lot to do.”

“We do need to move forward, and I think we are doing just that,” Mayor Lisa Petriello said.
Napolitano also voiced concern about setting a precedent of a property retaining its name based on someone who might have owned it years ago. Little sold the property to a developer who initially intended to develop the land. That company sold the property to the Toll Brothers, who ultimately gifted it to Moorestown after a decade-long campaign led by Rich.

“The precedent here is to include people in the discussion, of being decent to each other, and I don’t have a problem with that,” Gillespie said. “ … When he sold it, he didn’t have many options. The township wasn’t interested in it and it was next to a dump.”

Once the final votes were cast in the matter, council praised Rich and her contributions to the township.

“Congrats to Barbara. You are well-deserving of having your name up there,” Locatell said.

“Congrats to Barbara. You are well-deserving and no one ever disputed that,” Gillespie said.

“You are a gem, and we appreciate all the work you’ve done in this community,” Petriello said.

See related:
Former Moorestown Mayors Weigh In On Little Woods Renaming
Letter: Mark Thomas Has Solution For Little Woods Renaming Issue