By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
TRENTON – More an $100,000 worth of projects were approved earlier this month for quality of life issues, funded through the annual Community Development Block Grant funds.
City Administrator Jim Wagner said City Council confirmed that the allotments were given to a variety of projects, some traditional others with a new focus. Recent expansions of which areas could benefit from the funding allowed city officials to earmark projects of wider benefit, such as paving projects.
“One of the reasons was we had a museum located in the district that needed repairs,” Wagner said.
Located in the historic Moore house at the corner of St. Joseph and Third streets, the neighborhood and location were eligible for block grant qualification. About $50,000 in paving projects were in addition to recent efforts including $20,000 for renovations to the building
Previously, Wagner said eligibility for block grant funds required projects to be in low- or moderate-housing neighborhoods, along with community recreation projects.
“In previous years it was all paving or playgrounds,” Wagner said. This year’s projects, he said, include the demolishing of an abandoned building, a necessity that can be addressed without adding an expense to city funds.
As approved, this year’s CDBG funds continue to support senior transportation, with $20,000 marked for that program. A total of $112,880.63 was allocated for 2014-15. CDBG projects are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].)