Haddonfield Sun

By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Haddonfield Sun
Commissioners announced last Friday that another possible site for a new library has become available.
The Houshiarnejad Collection: Imported Fine Oriental Rugs and Country Way Bridals on Kings Highway East and the Leads Technologies building – located behind the two storefronts – might be available for purchase, said Commissioner Ed Borden.
Joe Riggs – the borough’s current fire chief – approached the commissioners and inquired if they would be willing to purchase the properties if he acquired them.
Riggs would purchase the properties for $3.8 million, Borden said. It’s unknown how much the borough would have to pay for the three pieces of real estate.
One of the biggest advantages of a library in these two existing structures, Borden said, is that it has the potential to be the least expensive out of all the possibilities being looked at. Obviously, the borough has no solid numbers at this time for what the scenario would cost, he said while addressing the Haddonfield Library Board of Trustees.
“You wouldn’t have to build anything on Library Point, it has some great potential,” he said. “I just think it has the potential to be the least expensive, because it’s an existing structure that’s built in a way that’s suitable for our needs.”
Both buildings have large first floors and adequate basements, Borden said, to support a possible library in terms of square footage. The total square footage of the proposed site is about 20,500 feet.
In regard to parking, Borden said the Leads Technologies building would be torn down to build a public parking lot. The parking lot would have a footpath entrance next to Animo Juice and be accessible by car from Tanner, Mechanic and Clement streets.
Borden stressed that there was no imminent sale or imminent plans for any type of new structure. It’s just another possible solution for an issue that has been in the borough for decades.
“It seems to me that is has some great pluses. It’s a very central location, very high visibility, and a lot of nearby foot traffic,” he said. “It would also provide substantial parking.”
However, Borden said there are several obvious questions and problems the site arises. The borough construction official and engineer would have to inspect the properties closely to see if they’re up to code and would support health and safety regulations, he said.
The buildings are also not zoned for library use. The commissioners would have to request a use variance, Borden said.
Library Director Susan Briant said it was an interesting proposal and one the borough and library should certainly look into. The library’s architecture firm, Arcari & Iovino, would possibly have to look at the proposed facility as well, she said.
“I think this should be explored. The parking availability is certainly there,” she said. “Libraries are economic anchors. It could be very positive for the area to draw people in to use the library and shop as well.”
Ann W. Kearney, Library Board of Trustees president, agreed with Briant and said the option should be explored. However, she said the commissioners should not forget another alternative location for the library.
She urged the commissioners and library trustees to also revisit the Allen Avenue parking lot, a site that was proposed in the past and is adjacent to the PATCO parking lot.
The store fronts bring in about $70,000 a year in taxes, Commissioner Jeff Kasko said, of which the borough takes about 15 percent a year. It would lose that tax money, he said, same with the Haddonfield School District and Camden County.
There is also the question of the referendum that was approved last year, which basically predicates that any money the borough wants to spend on a new library has to be approved by residents in a borough wide vote.
Were the borough ever to enter into negotiations with the property owner, Borden said, it would have to be on the condition that any sale would be subject to the referendum passing. If the referendum did not pass there would be no sale, he said.
The referendum vote can only be held during a general election, the next of which will be held in November 2010. However, a capital fund-raising campaign would likely take 18 months to complete, said Nancy Weber, an employee of Oak Ridge Consultants and the library’s fund-raising expert. The trustees have always planned on a fund-raising campaign to help control costs for a new library.
Completing a fund-raising campaign by November 2010 would be a daunting task, she said. Also, the question of what to do with the old library structure would certainly be asked by potential donors, she said. A plan for that structure must also be hashed out.
Kasko agreed and said a vote date of November 2011 would be much more likely if it came to that solution. The priority, he said, is determining what this will possibly cost the taxpayers, if this is something the residents of Haddonfield want and can pass in a referendum vote, and what to do with the existing library building.
“It is an interesting proposal. It’s very early, it’s an early idea. No decisions have been made. I appreciate the fact that Ed has brought it up and this is something we can consider,” he said. “It’s not a secret that my preference is to renovate our existing library and consider a modest expansion. But, I’m willing to keep an open mind and consider the alternatives.”

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