After strong opposition to a proposed regional rehabilitation and re-entry facility in the southern end of Winslow Township, the Camden County Board of Commissioners will find a new location.
Mayor Marie Lawrence penned a letter to Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. and other board members on Feb. 16 opposing the location.
“As Winslow’s mayor, when I consider the location being proposed, the sentiment of my community, the impact the facility may have on the environment and land being in the Pinelands, I’ve come to the conclusion neither Ancora (Psychiatric Hospital) nor Winslow would be the best place for it,” Lawrence said, expressing “grave concern” from herself, colleagues, constituents and the overall community.
Cappelli and Commissioner Jonathan Young, in a statement the same day as the letter, heeded the mayor’s opposition.
“In trying to find the best fit for a regional justice complex, we are respecting Mayor Marie Lawrence and the local elected body’s formal request that it not go at the state facility located in the southern end of Winslow Township,” the commissioners noted. “We are paying deference to the integrity of the municipality and its local elected officials in their decision.
“Moving forward,” the board added, “we will work to find a new location where a majority of the local governing body agrees that this facility and additional development would be a benefit to their town. That said, we do believe in the concept of a new regional justice complex that focuses on the needs of the occupants, so regionally and as a community, we can cut down on recidivism and center our attention on rehabilitative practices that make our society safer.”
The commissioners noted that a new regional justice complex in Winslow will bring more than $1 billion in new construction – including a retail component and offices for law firms and other service providers – and that it will attract hundreds of new employees, strengthen the local economy, and provide a community monetary benefit agreement.
“It will be an economic boon for any town or borough who has an interest in long-term growth and economic expansion,” the commissioners explained. “Based on that, the board will do an analysis of new sites in the future that may be a better fit for local elected officials.”
The regional facility was originally proposed at the state-run Ancora, which sits on a 680-acre property. It is a 600-bed adult inpatient facility, according to the New Jersey Department of Health website.
