Politics & Government

Camden County Interested in Bancroft Purchase

Haddonfield commissioners told county wants to take an "active role" in Bancroft purchase.

Borough Administrator Sharon McCullough said Tuesday Camden County Freeholder Jeffrey Nash told her the county wanted to take an "active role" in the purchase of the nearly 19-acre Bancroft property on Kings Highway East.

The message was delivered Tuesday at a meeting of the Haddonfield Board of Commissioners at the the Muncipal Hall.

McCullough said it wasn't immediately known how much money the county can provide in open-space grants. The borough had previously been awarded $500,000 for an open-space purchase that required matching funds, which were expected to be provided with money from a borough open-space tax.

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McCullough also said borough school officials were refining a plan for the purchase of Bancroft and hoped to have a joint meeting with commissioners sometime in January to explain the changes. School officials introduced a plan that could cost as much as $24 million to buy and improve the property, which is adjacent to the high school. It has been the main campus of Bancroft, a center for people with developmental disabilities and acquired brain injuries, for the past 128 years.

Before the Bancroft discussion, the commissioners unanimously approved a $3.6 million temporary borough budget. It's 26.5 percent of what the borough budget is expected to be when adopted, which will likely be before April. The money funds borough government until a budget is adopted.

Find out what's happening in Haddonfield-Haddon Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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