UPPER FREEHOLD — The Monmouth County Historical Commission has denied a grant request for a building in Upper Freehold Township that has been deemed to have no future public use.
Municipal officials applied for a grant in the amount of $6,325 in late 2014 for repairs and maintenance to the former municipal building in Upper Freehold’s Imlaystown Historic District.
John Fabiano, executive director of the Monmouth County Historical Commission, said the grant program is very competitive and there is only a certain amount of money allotted to specific projects.
“The commission only has $60,000 to grant to various projects. In a case between a grant being awarded to a nonprofit organization or a municipality, we typically like to give to nonprofit organizations since they already have limited resources,” Fabiano said.
In a letter to Township Administrator Dianne Kelly, Fabiano said the project that officials were seeking for the former municipal building was “essentially structural in nature” and that there were “concerns about the building’s future public use.”
Fabiano said Upper Freehold’s request for restoration of the building was not in the nature of historic preservation, which is what the grants seek to accomplish.
“We typically give grants to projects that will restore historical elements of a building or structure, enabling it to have proof that it will be used in the future by the public. This project simply called for a porch to be added to the front of the building and the addition of columns,” Fabiano said.
A $2,350 grant for improvements to the former municipal building was awarded in 2000, but the work was not completed until 2007, according to Fabiano.
He said Imlaystown has issues with waste water that has an effect on the use of buildings in the area.
“It is a shame the township has not addressed this problem,” Fabiano said.
Grants for projects in the area were awarded this week, according to Fabiano.
The Old Yellow Meeting House, Yellow Meeting House Road, Upper Freehold, has been awarded a grant in the amount of $5,834 which will be used for painting.
The Allentown Public Library, Main Street, Allentown, is receiving a grant in the amount of $6,000 to be used for the restoration of the steeple on the former church that houses the library.