Lower Township Awarded Small Cities Grant to Help Solve Flooding by Bayshore Estates

VILLAS — Lower Township will be awarded $400,000 from the Small Cities Community Development Block Grants in 2016 to help fund the project to combat the flooding problem that occurs along Roseann Avenue and the Bayshore Estates area.
“This was a job well done by our grants coordinator Colleen Crippen,” said Township Manager Jim Ridgway.
Twenty-three grants will benefit about 30,000 residents in 21 municipalities in seven counties, and two county programs, Gov. Chris Christie’s administration said in a news release. About $5,874,000 in Small Cities Community Development Block Grants will be awarded to New Jersey municipalities in fiscal year 2016.
“The Small Cities CDBG grants help to provide incentives to address local needs for housing improvement and public facility development,” said Charles A. Richman, Department of Community Affairs commissioner.
Proposed projects must meet at least one of three federal national objectives, including: activities that aid those with low or moderate incomes; attempting to prevent or eliminate slums or blight; or meeting an urgent community development need that poses a threat to community health or welfare.
At an Oct. meeting, Lower Township Council approved a $4.7 million bond ordinance for an extensive remediation project that includes a replacement pipe plus the installation of a large, underground pumping station. The project will provide protection against a projected five-year flood event and offer more versatility of use because the township could control the water flow to ensure flooding is optimally managed.
“The folks that live along Roseann Avenue and Bayshore Estates have waited a long time to get this flooding situation remediated,” said Lower Township Manager Jim Ridgway.