MONROE — County officials have dished out $500,000 to be split among several communities for downtown improvement work.
Monroe, Sayreville, Jamesburg, South River and Spotswood are among the eight municipalities to receive a share of the funding from the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders’ Downtown and District Improvement Fund.
The grants are issued by the freeholders yearly, and since the program began, nearly $1.75 million has been given to local communities.
Other communities that were assisted this year are South Plainfield, which received $63,100; Middlesex ($82,120); and Woodbridge ($50,000). Sayreville received $63,100.
South River obtained $49,100 for aid toward improvements. Mayor Robert Szegeti said the money will be used to complete new sidewalks, curbs and brick pavers along Stephens Road. Similar work will be done along Jackson Street, he said.
Much of an overall $100,000 improvement project in South River has already been completed, and as a result of the grant, the borough will have to fund only half the work, Szegeti said.
"Money is so tight, so this gives us the ability not to take too much from the capital projects," he said.
Spotswood’s $32,000 grant will help the borough redevelop a portion of Main Street.
Mayor Barry Zagnit, who noted that Spotswood received about $82,000 two years ago through the same grant program, said officials still must decide how to use the latest grant.
The borough had requested about $100,000 and had a design made in accordance with that figure. Officials must now determine how much of that project can be done with the smaller sum.
Zagnit said the plan had called for work on the south side of Main Street around its intersection with DeVoe Avenue and including the area of Main and Snowhill streets. The borough wanted to install new curbs and lighting, use pavers to "dress up" the sidewalks, make curb cuts for people with disabilities and improve landscaping.
Officials also wanted to work on the Firemen’s Memorial — making it level with the ground, installing walkways and improving the landscaping, Zagnit said.
"We have not decided yet how we’ll scale it back," he said. "We’ll meet with the engineer in the near future. It will be much smaller, as we’ll do about a third of what we initially applied for."
Zagnit said Spotswood is grateful that the freeholders awarded it any money at all. The county had only about $500,000 to award and received about $1.5 million in requests.
"We realize there’s only so much money to go around. They have to compare the projects and award the money to the best of their ability," the mayor said.
The borough is just now about to get started with work on the north side of Main Street that will be paid for with the $82,000 grant from two years ago. The project includes the installation of sidewalks, paving, lighting and new curbing, Zagnit said. It will also involve the area of Main and Snowhill streets and will include a portion of Snowhill Street.
Zagnit said the grants are intended to draw more people to businesses in downtown areas. Towns have a variety of specific areas where they can use the funds, including making the areas safer, improving handicapped accessibility and making the areas easier for pedestrians to navigate.
Work on the north side of Main Street is slated to begin as soon as the school year ends, Zagnit added. There is no timetable yet for work on the south side.
Jamesburg, which received $63,100, will use the money for an ongoing sidewalk improvement project on Buckelew Avenue.
According to Borough Administrator Denise Jawidzik, the borough received a similar amount last year.
"We always want more money, of course," said Mayor Anthony LaMantia. "But we appreciate what we’ve received, and we’re happy with it. It works well with us."
Monroe, which received the largest amount of aid — $97,465, will add sidewalks along Spotswood-Englishtown Road. The sidewalks will be built in an area that is proposed as a shopping district, officials said.

