WOODBINE – The borough has received a $1 million federal grant toward the cleanup of four sites, including a fenced area near the town’s water tower that once served as a hat factory.
Mayor William Pikolycky said he is anxious to get the property that housed the hat factory back on the tax rolls. He sees the federal funds as a potential draw for other grant monies the city can apply for.
The factory, which had already been closed, burned down in the 1970s.
The other three sites that will benefit from the funds are an old school site on Franklin Street, an area of Woodbine Municipal Airport, and the no-longer-functioning Foundations and Structures landfill on Fidler Road.
Officials said that none of the four sites presents a health hazard given their “current use,” but the cleanup funds will allow for new and improved uses.
In a document supporting its grant proposal, Woodbine said that the borough has “redevelopment plans for three of the sites.” The F&S landfill is being tapped for a community solar project to be developed on top of the landfill once it has been appropriately capped.
The document also says a portion of the hat factory site is expected to be used for private development. It goes on to speak of redevelopment plans at the municipal airport, where the borough is looking to enhance economic and aeronautical uses.
An environmental justice engagement event in Woodbine on Sept. 17 celebrated the awarding of the federal grant, which came under the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program. That program is intended to send benefits to disadvantaged communities that saw underinvestment and pollution in the past.
Among those present at the event were the EPA Region 2 administrator, Lisa Garcia, and state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, along with a representative for U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.
Although not at the event personally, Booker said in a document on the EPA website that the $1 million grant was a “huge investment in Woodbine’s future that will improve public health, promote environmental justice, and open the door to new economic opportunities.”
The event highlighted the fact that Woodbine once was an industrial center for South Jersey. LaTourette agreed, adding that New Jersey was a hub for the Industrial Revolution. He said that the state’s efforts centered in places like Woodbine and, in the north, Paterson.
In a recounting of the visit on the EPA’s website, Garcia said, “This EPA grant will play a crucial role in transforming contaminated sites into valuable community assets.”
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
