Top 10 News Stories in Moorestown, New Jersey

2006 was a year of historic 'firsts' and changes in conventional wisdom in the township of Moorestown, New Jersey, named by Money Magazine as 2005 'Best Place to Live' in the nation. Let's take a look at some of the movers, shakers and events that changed the complexion of this small (19,000 residents) town, named by Money Magazine as its 2005 pick for "Best Place to Live" in the nation.

1. The township library - Expansion plans approved, then rescinded. Moorestown is home to a rather small, quaint library whose membership is open only to township residents. The 30 plus year old building had been the subject of controvery as its Trustees and director made a case (and a plea) for funding to expand and renovate the existing structure. Town council finally approved funding for the project in late summer, 2006; after a series of bidding mishaps (i.e., bids came in way over budget), the project was re-bid and agreement with a general contractor reached. Unfortunately, the contractor (who was to have started work on the project in October) allegedly renigned on the original agreement; work on the library project was never halted - it had never even started. It wasn't until the last meeting of town council on December 18th that agreement was reached to reopen the existing library for use by residents. A great idea, but a deal gone very sour...

2. Democrats take control of town council. Traditionally a Republican town, Moorestown saw a huge political shift as a result of the November 06 town council elections. Longtime Republican councilman and former Mayor Howard Miller lost his bid for reelection by approximately 45 votes. Seth Broder, a relative newcomer to the township (he's lived here for three years) and to politics itself, won Miller's seat, giving the Democrats a 4-1 edge in the political arena. The lone Republican council member is financial consultant Daniel Roccato. It was only during the last town council election that three Democrats were voted into office in Moorestown - the first time that more than one Democrat sat on council in township history. Broder's election marks the first time in Moorestown history that town council will be controlled by Democrats.

3. Town council allocated funding for an artificial turf field. Long a subject of debate and feverish interest by the local school district, council members approved funding for an artificial turf playing field in early spring of 2006. Much of the interest in a turf field centered around its year-round, all weather conditions use, but its cost - estimated at between $750,000 to $1,100,000, including a sinking fund - did not meet with success with residents when presented by the school system. After tenacious presentations and discussions, approval was given for the installation of a football-field sized artificial turf playing field - located at one of the township's own parks rather than at the Moorestown High School campus.

4. Moorestown Friends School purchases the "little Acme" - does this spell doom and gloom for the downtown retail district? Does Moorestown even HAVE a viable downtown shopping district? The town was originally laid out and designed so that its Main Street would have a block-long 'commercial' district only on one side of the street. The other side would consist of more 'sedate' uses: a church, a funeral home, two private schools, the town Community Center. Moorestown's 'little Acme' grocery store was a highlight of the downtown area. A small store, it never carried all of the latest products or innovations, but it was a wonderful place to stop in town and pick up not only a few (or a lot) of your groceries, but also a place where many would 'meet and greet'. This was especially true for the senior residents of town, many of whom walked to the store. When the store's lease expired, great excitement came to be. There was a small but vigorous effort to keep the grocery store in that particular location (Big Business prevailed, however, and did pull out). The property was then put up for sale. There was talk of a restaurant, a bookstore, a cafe, a Trader Joe's gourmet grocery store, going into the building. There was even a dialogue going on that the township library relocate to the site, rather than renovating its current building. The eventual purchaser, however, was the Moorestown Friend School, a private (and expensive) Quaker school, whose press release stated that the School would be using the building for additional classroom spaces. The outcry from the local Moorestown Business Association wasn't long in coming. The past six years have seen a lot of activity from the political and business center to try to rejuvenate the downtown shopping area. Having a prime shopping location being purchased for use as classrooms doesn't appear to be a draw for more shoppers with cash in hand to visit the town. The question of how - and more importantly, IF - the downtown retail district can be made vital and viable remains to be seen.

5. The creation of a Historic Preservation Committee ordinance, approved at town council's last meeting of the 2006 calendar year, whose title is limited to "Historic Demolition". Affecting nearly 450 properties, both residential and commercial, in a designated 'historic district zone' and in select other locations in the township, the Moorestown Historical Society has been working on getting such an ordinance passed for the last decade. The ordinance, which met with a surprisingly large number of protests from residents who question ordinance language pertaining to exterior, infrastructure and 'historical standards requirements', in its actual language goes beyond merely the creation of an advisory committee. The ordinance has 'teeth' in it for the creation of a regulatory committee, through which approvals must be sought for historic property owners to build additions, change the color, type and style of siding, decorative trimwork, etc. on a property's facade. Despite dozens of protests by residents that the ordinance's title is deceptively misleading, it passed - upon first reading - by town council by a vote of 3-1. Questions remain about future legal challenges to the ordinance's broad spectrum of enforcement and limitations. Interestling enough, the President of the local historical society will be moving from Moorestown to live in a (restored) Victorian home of some historical significance - in Maryland! The majority of society members do not live in, nor own, historic homes themselves. A good intention gone awry?

6. The Moorestown High School sports teams continue to set the bar for state and national records. Its girls' lacrosse team has been consistently ranked in the top five of the nation, holds the State record for number of State Championship titles, and was ranked by laxpower.com as the #2 in the nation during 2006. The field hockey team also won the State title this year, holding the record for the highest number of state titles won in the nation. The girls' cross country team holds the state record since 1998 of consecutive winning batch meets, 102-0, while the 2006 Quakers football team actually made it into the State semifinals for the first time in literally decades.The girls' soccer team won not only their Dividison this year, but also the State Championship. Baseball also won its Division title again, leaving only the shaky boys and girls basketball programs the only team sports that continue to struggle. "Feeder" programs, sponsored by both the Department of Recreation and various sports clubs, provide some pretty high-level organized clinics, games and travel teams that have produced a significantly high number of scholarship-worthy student athletes whose collegiate careers include University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt, University of Virginia, University of Caifornia at Berkely, Temple, Loyola, Johns Hopkins, Bucknell, Cornell and many other top-notch schools. The allegation that a relatively high number of athletes also have engaged the services of personal trainers for individual sports appears to have had a pretty satisfying result as well.

7. Shakeup in the school district. Former Superintendent of the Moorestown school district Paul Kadri won many fans among residents for his no-nonsense, business-like approach to running a school district. During his three year tenure with the district, budgets and referendums were handily approved despite constantly declining State aid. Kadri also recruited a high number of talented and qualified administrators to the district as well. For whatever reason, Kadri tendered his resignation in a stunningly quick turn of events early in the school year. Following Kadri's resignation to take the position of Superintendent at a Pennsylvania school district roughly twice the size of Moorestown, a number of higher-level administrative posts have been left permanently unfilled. A new principal began the year at the Upper Elementary School, the high school principal resigned, and at present, the Board of Education continues its search for both a permanent high school principal and a permanent Superintendent of Schools. The Board has engaged the services of a firm specializing in these educational appointments, and it is hoped to have both positions filled by July, 2007.

8. Much ado about - holiday decorations? Moorestown has always felt the stinging blow of comparison to its Camden County neighbor, Haddonfield, in terms of economic and visual viability. As noted earlier, while Haddonfield is a day trip destination for many New Jersey and Pennsylvania shoppers, with over a dozen charmingly quaint, unique and well-mainted restaurants, boutiques and a sprinkling of chain stores, Moorestown struggles to attract new retail tenants in both its Main Street and Camden Avenue shopping districts. One unfortunate bone of contention that arises annually is the seemingly paltry holiday decorations that the township's Appearnace Committee selects for display. While Haddonfield has simple yet elegant wreaths, bows and lights (plus horse and buggy rides, merchants' 'special sales' and other incentives), Moorestown's decorations this year consist of garland wrapped upon the township's rather fragile (and relatively new) street lamps, with banners attached. Some of the more colorful disparing remarks about this year's holiday decorations have compared the banners to dish rags attached to street light poles which appear to be covered with fungus! With a budget of over $75,000 for the annual holiday decorations, the township's Appearance Committee is again under attack for seemingly less-than-perfect or even close choices of decoration.

9. Shocking drops in home sale numbers. While a continuing drop in existing home sale prices has shocked sellers and builders nationwide, perhaps no other town in the county felt those reverbations more than Moorestown. One of the biggest surprises - and seemingly a genuine error - in Money Magazine's selection of Moorestown as its 2005 "Top Place" was its statement over the affordability of housing. Money Magazine placed the price of a 'standard' home in Moorestown in the range of $235,000 to $260,000; in truth, what was considered 'standard' housing in Moorestown at the period of time was much closer to $500,000 and up. During 2006, actual sales prices saw a drop of 20% of more in the township. Selling one's home in town was made even more difficult because of its high property tax scale and the State transfer and 'luxury home' additional taxes. (Homes sold for over $1,000,000 were subject to an additional tax in the range of 2 to 3%. There was a really bid surge in houses listed at $999,999.99 this year.) And, at least for Moorestown, things won't be getting much brighter on the property tax side: a State-mandated reevaluation of properties (many of which hadn't been reassessed in over 20 years) will start taking place next year.

10. On the brighter side, Moorestown did celebrate its 2005 "Top Town" designation with a year-long series of events during 2006. Fireworks lit the July 4th sky for the first time in years, following the town's first Fourth of July parade. A nifty Winter Carnival in late January was a delight; despite warm weather, snow was trucked into town for sledders to take advantage of the wonderful slopes of Stokes Hill on Main Street. The inventor of the Flexible Flyer sled, who lived most of his life in Moorestown, was honored by a sledding memorabilia exhibit and clinic. Another huge success was the town's first Halloween Parade in many, many years, enjoyed by children, adults and assorted sundry four-legged friends. Under the "Make It Moorestown" committee, the township celebrated in style its designation as the "Top Town" with a series of family-oriented events which were very well received.

What was once a sleepy, quiet Philadelphia commuter suburb has now come into its own identity. The top ten news stories for 2006 will hold lasting - and permanent - changes for the town as a whole. Those of us who live here can hardly wait to see what new, exciting, questionable yet inevitable changes 2007 holds in store for us...