By Colleen P. Moore

SALEM When the county freeholders approved a resolution recently to purchase new furniture for a temporary office building, several area residents voiced concern about what they thought was an excessive price.

However, the quote of nearly $93,000 for furniture was not correct.


“That wasn’t worded accurately. The $92,762 I know was kind of misleading,” said Freeholder Director Lee Ware. “That is a big number for just furniture.”

The title of the resolution, approved earlier this month, stated that amount was for the purchase of new furniture, but it wasn’t mentioned at the meeting that only around $29,000 of that includes the cost for actual furniture.

Ware said the rest is for moving costs and other preparations that must be done to the building, including cubicles and partitions.

Those are required for privacy for the Office on Aging and the Department of Health, and the current offices do not have them.

The office building the county leased is the old Acme on Route 45 in Mannington Township, which will soon house some county offices being moved out of the historic Old Courthouse and old surrogate’s building next to it.

The move is necessary so those two buildings can undergo much-needed renovations, which will be completed with the use of $1 million in grant money.

Offices that will move include the Department of Health, Office on Aging and Office of the Disabled.

Once the five-year lease takes effect for the 18,718 square-foot building, it will cost the county approximately $12,400 a month.