CRANBURY: Township Committee debates grant use

By Kaitlyn Kanzler, Special Writer
   CRANBURY — Discussion broke out about how to use grant money allotted for future affordable housing at the Township Committee meeting this week .
   According to Mark Berkowsky, president of the Cranbury Housing Associates (CHA), Cranbury Township received $22,737 to put towards affordable housing off of Route 130.
   ”Cranbury has been fortunate that we get that $23,000 a year to use for affordable housing,” Mr. Berkowsky said at the Feb. 11 Township Committee meeting.
   The money is part of the 2013 Community Development Block Grant that is given out by the Department of Agriculture.
   Mr. Berkowsky said the CHA plans on using the money from the grant for architectural and design services for the Rt. 130 project.
   ”We’ve used money from the previous years for that project and as requested by the Township Committee, continue on the design process,” Mr. Berkowsky said.
   He said the CHA has three years to break ground pending Planning Board approval and can request an extension.
   Committee member Jay Taylor suggested that instead of using the money for architectural and designing costs, that CHA look into purchasing a generator for the senior affordable housing located on Park Place West.
   ”One of the concerns I had after Sandy was that the senior housing went a number of days without electricity,” Mr. Taylor said.
   Mr. Taylor said several residents told him that they were afraid to call the business management company during the Sandy aftermath.
   Committee member Dan Mulligan said he went to the senior housing with the Boy Scouts to see how the seniors were doing.
   ”(The police) did evacuate a lot of people,” Mr. Mulligan said. “Those that stayed behind didn’t want to leave.”
   According to Mr. Berkowsky, CHA had no plans to address the senior housing and was planning on focusing on the Rt. 130 housing.
   Mr. Taylor requested that the committee consider using the funds for a generator instead.
   According to Township Engineer Bill Tanner, it would take more than $23,000 to have a generator run the four buildings of 20 units.
   ”I think for a house, you can spend up to $4,000 per unit,” Mr. Tanner said.
   Committee member David Cook asked township Administrator Denise Marabello if it was possible to save the grant money from this year and possibly apply next year’s grant money to fund a generator.
   Ms. Marabello said the CHA is required to spend it within the year.
   ”Within 18 months, I have to have proof of spending (the money) to get reimbursed or we run the risk of not getting money the following year,” Ms. Marabello said.
   According to Ms. Marabello, when she first started working as township administrator, no one had realized that the grant money had been piling up and the Department of Agriculture said the township had to spend it or lose out on receiving money the next year.
   ”There are only certain things that this grant money is allowed to be used for,” Township Clerk and former liaison to the housing committee, Kathleen Cunningham. “I don’t know if the generator would fall under those guidelines.”
   Mr. Mulligan said the CHA had planned to meet on Feb. 12 where they would be willing to discuss potentially using the money for a generator.
   ”(Route 130) isn’t the worst thing to spend the money on, but if you want to have a conversation about the generator, we can do that,” Mr. Mulligan said.
   According to Mr. Berkowsky, the CHA was founded in 1963 as a volunteer, not-for-profit organization to benefit all Cranbury residents, especially those with low to moderate incomes.