Westampton Township. — Construction, at least ceremonially, is underway of an emergency shelter which Burlington County says this will benefit everyone, including the residents of this town.

Board of Commissioners Director Felicia Hopson celebrated what has been a long effort for her to build such a shelter, holding up a golden shovel Wednesday afternoon with other officials at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. work on the 60-bed establishment.

Opponents of the project, for their part, were not allowed to demonstrate with signs during the event.

Real work has not yet begun on the two-story building, which is expected to be built on a vacant parcel behind the county Social Services building at 795 Woodlane Road. The project, partially funded by state and federal grants, is expected to cost about $21 million and take 16 to 20 months.

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“Well, it’s my honor and privilege to welcome everyone to this celebration of the start of construction on Burlington County’s first-ever homeless shelter,” Hopson said. “I’m extremely excited. This has been a long time coming.

Despite Hopson’s comments, county officials said it was incorrect to call it a “homeless” shelter. Emergency shelter is a very different operation, they noted.

U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) helped secure grants for the project. Both were guest speakers at the event, which was held Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.

According to county officials, the building is intended to serve as a temporary stopping point for adult men and women. They highlighted the benefits of being close to the social services building, where many services they might need can be provided or referrals made.

Some residents of a housing complex across the street from the social services campus organized to protest the project. They said their neighborhood was already plagued by homeless issues and the shelter would eventually increase that population.

Hopson and Singleton took the time to let their opponents know that they had no intention of withdrawing from the project.

“This will improve safety in every community in Burlington County, including Westampton,” Hopson said. “To all those who claim that the shelter will create crime or degrade the quality of life? I challenge you to put yourself in the shoes of those it will serve.

Singleton said he has never been more proud of his county.

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“Today is a big day,” Singleton said. “After today, there will be a lot of noise. Let’s be honest about the decisions that were made to move a facility forward.

“The one thing I have confidence in is that the leaders of this county will always stand shoulder to shoulder to ensure they block out this noise.”

For Wednesday’s event, which was announced Monday evening, sheriff’s officials told residents that any type of protest would have to take place well away from the project site.

Dover Road resident Audrey Kerstetter had prepared a poster to show, but had to leave it outside her car. She said she learned about the event in time only from a story posted on Facebook.

Kerstetter and other residents, on the contrary, stood on the sidelines. Afterwards, some spoke to some officials.

Dover Road resident Joe Figaniak, a truck driver, looked on with his 2-year-old son asleep on his shoulder. His family had moved from Philadelphia to Westampton due to issues such as widespread homelessness.

“The workers I work with have said this area is ‘beautiful,’” Figaniak said. “It was. And I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse. We just moved here last year and I’m already talking to my wife about needing to move.

“It’s really sad.”

Faganiak said he and his wife are keeping their son out of the yard as a precaution. The idea that some shelter residents won’t eventually join the existing homeless population makes no sense to him.

“Where are they going to go?” he said. “They’re not going to stay here. They’re going to hang out at the Wawa. They’re going to go down the street to Target. Anywhere they can go and hang out. In our city. And that’s not good. It’s not good.

In September, county commissioners awarded an approximately $18.3 million construction contract to Dandrea Construction Co. and a management contract to M&M Construction Inc. worth $617,000. The government grants total $6 million, Hopson said Wednesday.

The construction contract requires union labor, and union members have expressed support for the shelter. County officials thanked them, just as Singleton did at the event.

“I am extremely proud that my brothers and sisters or the unions are participating in this, as skilled craftsmen and women, to realize this dream, that on the boards behind us is a concept (that transforms) into concrete action,” Singleton says.

Joe Smith is a Northeast Philadelphia native who transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago and now oversees South Jersey government. He is a former editor and current senior editor of the Daily Journal in Vineland, the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill and the Burlington County Times.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Burlington County Emergency Homeless Shelter Celebration in Westampton