The Township of Nutley has received $180,825 in funding from a Community Development Block Grant for necessary infrastructure improvements.
On Jan. 19, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. presented Nutley Mayor Joseph P. Scarpelli a check from the CDBG program, which is funded by the federal government and distributed by the Essex County Division of Housing and Community Development
A total of $5.8 million in CDBG and emergency-solution grants were offered to 10 municipalities and 28 organizations in the county.
“I would like to thank County Executive DiVincenzo for administering the CDBG program,” Scarpelli said. “The grants we have received over the years have funded many roadway-reconstruction projects, along with other building improvements without any cost to the local taxpayer. Our capital-improvement program is greatly enhanced by utilizing this federal funding.”
According to Kathy Rempusheski, the township’s QPA/CDBG coordinator, Nutley has received a total of just under $1.9 million in CDBG funds over the past 10 years, allowing for major improvements to municipal buildings and roads.
Each December, the township applies for the CDBG program with a specific area or project in mind for improvement. Eligible projects include providing Americans with Disability Act (ADA) accessibility to government-owned buildings and the repaving of roadways that are identified as per a census tract updated every 10 years.
The eligible areas are determined by the federal government and each must provide a benefit for low- income residents, according to HUD guidelines. The $180,825 received this January has been put toward the reconstruction and resurfacing of Ravine Avenue.
The funds received over the past decade have also made for the addition of an ADA-accessible elevator at the Nutley Public Library, an ADA pathway at Glotzbach Memorial Park and an ADA-accessible restroom at the public safety building, as well as the resurfacing of multiple roads.
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