Economic Development Roundtable Coming to Galloway Jan. 18.

Galloway Township is open for development.

That’s the message the township wants to deliver to potential developers, and it’s starting with a roundtable discussion at the on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 3:30 p.m. with a roundtable discussion.

The idea is a result of discussions among members of a ratables committee assembled by Mayor Don Purdy on Nov. 22. The committee, made up of Councilmen Tony Coppola, Jim Gorman and Brian Tyrrell, thought a meeting between developers and members of the township would be the best way to clarify the situation and put Galloway in a position to move forward with its projects once the economy improves.

“We’ve done a lot, but maybe we haven’t done enough,” Coppola said. “We might find if we get 15 developers in a room together and ask them their top 15 concerns, the top 10 might be the same across the board.”

“We want to make sure we’re on the same page as the developers,” Tyrrell said.

Coppola said that in the past, Galloway has not been a business-friendly community, and part of the objective is to ascertain whether or not it is still seen that way.

“We’ve done a lot with sewer service areas, bonding, focusing on areas in need of development, issues with the Pinelands,” said Coppola, who added the township may not have done enough to illustrate all the things it’s done to improve development in the area.”

According to Coppola, the township has received 25 RSVPs so far. Areas of focus for the roundtable include the Route 30 corridor, the Lennox property and the Route 9 corridor.

He also hopes to engage the Economic Development Committee, of which he is also a part.

“This is Phase 1 of the project. It’s the discovery period. We want to bring developers, commercial developers and real estate people together, get them into the room and have a round table where we can solicit opinions. If we’re doing something to discourage development, we want to address that.”

“We want that dialogue to take place,” Tyrrell said. “If there is a problem, people might just go elsewhere; they won’t always voice their concerns. We want to hear (those concerns). It’s like an iceberg. You might see the top of the iceberg, but it’s what’s below the surface that might sink the ship.”