Committee to recommend grant funding recipients
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK - The township is expecting to receive $125,000 this year through a federal Community Development Block Grant to fund various projects.

Township Housing Specialist Linda Rubenstein recently addressed the council about the grant monies as required by the CDBG program, which aims to improve low- and moderate-income housing, make buildings more accessible to people with disabilities, and improve historical and recreational sites, among other objectives.

Rubenstein said she expects this year's grant to be divided among "several worthy projects." A citizens' advisory committee reviews requests, which were due in February, and makes recommendations to the council on which projects or programs should be funded. Committee members are drawn from recipient groups such as senior citizens, historical groups and people with disabilities.

Rubenstein told the Sentinel she was hoping to reach more community groups that are eligible for the grant money.

"The purpose of this is to reach people I don't reach any other way," she said, noting food banks as an example.

Although grant money cannot be given out in the form of cash assistance, it can be used to buy more tangible things such as food.

The purpose of the recent public hearing was to provide information, answer questions and get ideas for grant recipients. Among the many projects that have been funded with CDBG money in the past include repairs to a group home on Summerhill Road, accessibility projects at township buildings and parks, improvements to the senior center and work at the Camp Daisy facility, and renovations at the East Brunswick Museum and the former Smith farmhouse.

The program's objectives, Rubenstein said, are the elimination of slums and blight; provision of decent housing through expansion of housing opportunities; correction of health and safety code violations through housing rehabilitation; preservation of historical sites; and other community activities that will benefit principally low- and moderate-income individuals and families, the elderly and the handicapped.

There are requirements for the timely expenditures of funds, she said, adding that future grant reductions may be made if the deadlines are not met. Also, if a project does not move forward or not all the money allocated is spent, those funds can be reprogrammed into other eligible projects.

CDBG money comes through the county from the federal government, she said.