CHRIS LaCHALL/Courier-Post Marie Tommillo (left) and Liz Smith, both of Mount Laurel, play a game of pool in the new Mount Laurel Community Center.

Marie Tommillo lined up the cue and took her shot, excited to be the first person to start a game of pool at the new Mount Laurel Community Center.

"We really have been waiting for this," said Tommillo, 67, of Mount Laurel. "It's absolutely beautiful. It's been well worth the wait."

On May 13, Mount Laurel officials and seniors dedicated the $3.1 million community center on the township campus along Mount Laurel Road. Construction of the two-story building ran several months behind schedule.

While the building will serve as the hub for senior activities in the township, the facility will also be used for meetings and by other community organizations. Mount Laurel senior citizens are moving in from an old school further south along Mount Laurel Road that is owned by the Board of Education.

The two-story entry foyer of the new building is finished with dark wood trim and light floor tiles. High above is a stained glass window depicting the township's seal and the year, 1878, in which Mount Laurel was incorporated.

The main meeting room has space for as many as 400 people, but can be partitioned off for smaller groups. In the back is a patio that faces the woods and has a dozen wicker rocking chairs.

Down one hallway is the kitchen. Across the way is the game room - complete with two Brunswick pool tables, a music room with a television and stereo, and a library.

The library and computer room was dedicated to Bob Asmussen, a past president of the Mount Laurel Seniors who died recently.

Mount Laurel officials said the new building allows the expansion of programs. Among them, a new lecture series is planned.

"We're going to have the room to do everything we couldn't do in the other building," said Dina Leacock, senior center director.

Mount Laurel Mayor Mark Sanchirico said the building is an example of tax dollars well spent.

"This building belongs to everyone in Mount Laurel. Use it whenever you can," Sanchirico said at the building's dedication ceremony.

Doris Prettyman, of Mount Laurel, enjoys the ceramics classes at the center. "I think it's beautiful," said Prettyman. "Everything's so new and nice."