TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) announced the award of $6.6 million in Small Cities Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to non-entitlement municipalities and counties in New Jersey April 8.
The 22 grants are going to 17 municipalities in seven counties, including five in Cape May County — Cape May, Dennis Township, Middle Township, Lower Township and Woodbine.
DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources receives, distributes, and administers these federal grant funds for the State of New Jersey.
“Governor Murphy and I are focused on strengthening New Jersey from the inside out through investments in core areas that impact all people’s lives,” stated Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “The Small Cities grants support this mission by helping our smaller communities provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, infrastructure improvements, and economic opportunities, especially for low-income and moderate-income people.”
Awards in this year’s application cycle will provide funding for worthwhile projects that include improvements at parks, recreation facilities, and municipal buildings to make them more accessible to disabled persons in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; upgrades to water supply facilities and infrastructure; and the moderate rehabilitation of housing for low and moderate-income residents.
Small Cities CDBG grants provide direct assistance to eligible municipalities and counties for housing rehabilitation, public facilities improvements, community revitalization, and economic development. Funding for the Small Cities CDBG Program is provided by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Community Development Block Grant Program. Only non-entitlement, less-populated communities and counties that do not receive direct funding from HUD are eligible for the Small Cities CDBG program.
Municipalities receiving Small Cities grants design their own projects and funding priorities. These locally developed projects are required to meet at least one of the three federal national objectives which include:
Activities that benefit low and moderate-income persons,
Assistance in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or
Urgent community development needs due to existing conditions that pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community where other financial resources are not available to meet such needs.
A description of the grant recipients and projects are listed below:
| Grantee Name | County | Project Title | Project Description | Award Amount |
| Cape May City | Cape May | Kiwanis Community Park ADA Compliance Project | Remove mobility barriers at Kiwanis Community Park in order to bring the recreation facility into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). | $400,000 |
| Dennis Township | Cape May | Dennis Municipal Complex ADA Compliance – Municipal Building | Remove mobility barriers at the municipal building that hinder access by the disabled and handicapped for compliance with the ADA. | $399,600 |
| Lower Township | Cape May | Villas Storm Drainage Project | Alleviate flooding within the Villas Neighborhood by replacing storm drainage facilities on Cloverdale Avenue, Evergreen Avenue, Spruce Avenue and S. Ocean Avenue. | $400,000 |
| Middle Township | Cape May | Middle Township Housing Rehabilitation Program | Rehabilitate 12 housing units occupied by low and moderate-income residents. | $163,000 |
| Middle Township | Cape May | ADA Compliance Township Municipal Building | Remove architectural barriers at the municipal building that hinder access by the disabled to improve compliance with the ADA. | $144,000 |
| Woodbine Borough | Cape May | Street and Related Infrastructure Reconstruction | Critical improvements to portions of Madison Avenue and Clay Street and the aging water system infrastructure beneath both streets. | $400,000 |
