Mahwah August 24, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Rededication of municipal center set for September by Frank J. McMahon The municipal center in the Township of Mahwah will be renamed in honor of former Mayor Richard J. Martel on Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. The ceremony will take place at the municipal center on Corporate Drive. Council President John Roth made the announcement at a recent public meeting of the township council, saying that specific date was chosen because there is no New York Giants football game scheduled on that day. Martel was an avid fan of the Giants, and Roth said that was one of the most important criteria in selecting the date for the rededication of the municipal center. Roth said the preliminary plans for the rededication ceremony will include the Mahwah High School Marching Band, the presence of past council presidents, and other dignitaries. According to Roth, the permanent stone and brick sign at the entrance to the parking lot will be changed to identify the property as the Township of Mahwah Richard J. Martel Municipal Center. The sign will contain the township logotype on both sides so anyone using the main entrance to the parking lot will see it. The current municipal center was completed in 2003 while Martel was the mayor of the township. Prior to that time, the municipal offices were located on several different sites in the township. According to Township Historian Carol Green’s book about Mahwah and the surrounding area, “The Ramapough Chronicles,” the Mahwah Town Hall was located After further consideration, the Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce has decided to revoke its vote to change the name of the Chamber as of January 1, 2012. “The board of directors decided that there was not sufficient consensus among the members to pursue changing the name at this time,” Chamber President Susan Lord said of the decision. “The name Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce will be retained and our commitment to Mahwah and businesses in the region will remain as strong as ever.” Earlier this year, the Mahwah Chamber had announced its decision to change the organization’s name to the Bergen County Chamber of Commerce. That decision, Chamber officials said at the time, had been made with an eye toward expanding membership, enhancing business opportunities for a larger audience, providing a greater voice to business owners on county and state issues, and Chamber rescinds name change decision offering more resources to the members. Founded in 1957, the Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce is a dynamic organization of more than 520 businesses, representing 100 communities in the region. The Chamber’s membership includes retail, professional, service, and corporate businesses, both large and small. Its primary objective is to advance the general welfare of the greater Mahwah region so that its citizens and its business community may prosper. Particular attention and emphasis is given to the business, social, civic, cultural, and educational interests of the region. The organization includes members from throughout New Jersey and New York. For additional information about Chamber membership and the organization’s many activities, contact the Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce office at (201) 529-5566 or visit the website at Mahwah.com. in the VanHorn/Winter/Dederick store from 1908 until 1915. Then the Winter/Scherer Building on Depot Square served as the town hall until 1929, when the Fire House #1/Mahwah Town Hall building was constructed at Miller Road and Franklin Turnpike. That building housed the township’s government offices until 1958, when the municipal offices were moved next door to the Charles N. Feldman Building, a site that was renamed for a mayor who served in the 1950s. The Feldman Building, which was previously known as the Ackerman-Wells house, was at 211 Franklin Turnpike, where the police station is now located. The township bought the Ackerman-Wells house in 1957 and renamed it for Feldman. In order to provide more space, annexes at 70 East Ramapo Avenue, across from the Commodore Perry School, and at 225 Franklin Turnpike were used for municipal offices. In 1991, when it became clear that the annexes did not provide enough space, the municipal offices were moved to 300B Route 17 South at the end of Corporate Drive. It was at this location that former Mayor David Dwork, who had been the township’s mayor since 1991, committed suicide in his office on Aug. 18, 1997 after which Martel was appointed acting mayor. Martel was elected to that position the following November to fill out Dwork’s term, which was due to expire in 2000. The township conducted its business at that site until 2003, when the new municipal center at 475 Corporate Drive was completed. According to Township Administrator Brian Campion, the township council discussed relocating the township’s business offices for a long time before deciding to build the new municipal building and senior center at 475 Corporate Drive. Before that decision, he advised that the council at the time considered the reconstruction of the Feldman Building and the 2.1-acre site at the intersection of Macarthur Boulevard and Ridge Road, where the MacArthur Ridge Plaza shopping center is now located, and the TD Bank building across Macarthur Boulevard from that site.