COURT HOUSE – A new county program to fund municipal projects with $3.8 million taken from surplus may pump up Middle Township’s bike path and help it roll merrily into Phase 2.
Mayor F. Nathan Doughty approached freeholders March 14 with a proposal to use the municipality’s $130,000 portion of the fund to pay for an extension of the popular bike path. Freeholders told Doughty to complete a prescribed application and resubmit.
That southerly extension will continue the bike path from Goshen Road, just north of Church Street to Shellbay Avenue, following the Atlantic City Electric Co. right of way.
Plans are to have it connect to Indian Trail Road.
Doughty was the first to seek funds from the new revenue sharing project, the “2006 Municipal Public Improvements Joint Venture Program.”
Every municipality is entitled to sums whose maximums range from $50,000 to Ocean City’s $929,000, based on the amount of money they pay in
county taxes.
“At the present, we have only $145,000 in funding from a Department of Transportation grant,” said Administrator Clerk James Alexis.
It is estimated the township already has about $265,000 invested in its bike path, which extends from Goshen Road to Court House-South Dennis Road, near the entrance to the County Park and Zoo and Atlantic Cape Community College.
“The project is estimated to be well in excess of that,” Alexis added.
A municipal meeting with county officials was slated to be held yesterday to explain the new program.
Phase I applications are due April 13, notification of completeness will be made April 21, and “They anticipate awarding the funds May 9,” said Alexis.
Contact Campbell at (609) 886-8600 Ext 28 or: al.c@cmcherald.com