SOMERS POINT — Somers Point has been awarded several grants that will fund various new projects to improve the quality of life in the community.
“We are taking an aggressive approach to looking for, and submitting applications for, grants that help to improve our city’s infrastructure and amenities to enhance the quality of life for Somers Point residents and also help to attract visitors to the city,” Mayor Jack Glasser said.
City Council Janice Johnston said securing the grants “helps tremendously because we don’t have to use tax dollars to do that stuff.”
Johnston said the city has been so successfully in obtaining the grants because they often already have plans in place to complete the projects.
“Our engineer does such a great job. They like to see that you have a plan and some you have only so much time to do them. We’re a couple steps ahead in planning process, which helps us with these grants,” she said.
Johnston said many of the projects are necessary but would have to be put off until a later date without the funding.
“It helps us get them done quicker than if we had to wait for them in the budget,” she said, noting many of the grants are 100 percent or require only a small city match.
According to a news release from the city’s contracted marketing firm Performance Marketing, the following are recently completed projects that were funded by grants:
— Numerous bike path enhancements were made possible by a $165,000 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant from the state Department of Transportation (DOT). With work completed just last month, the enhancements include three bike repair stations, the replacement of 14 benches, new bike racks near Dawes Avenue School, three bicycle and pedestrian counters and the installation of a rectangular rapid flashing beacon at the bike path intersection with Ocean Heights Avenue to improve safety when bicyclists and pedestrians cross.
— Work was completed just in time for the busy summer season on a project to replace the lights on Bay Avenue. Thanks to a $154,000 Community Capital Needs grant from the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA), existing decorative lights on Bay Avenue from Goll Avenue to New Jersey Avenue were replaced with new conduits, poles and LED fixtures.
— The city used a portion of a $125,000 DCA Neighborhood Preservation Program grant to improve accessibility to the beach and the free summer beach concerts at William Morrow Beach. The city purchased and installed a firm roll-out beach-access mat to create a safe, ADA-compliant walkway on Bay Avenue between Higbee and New Jersey avenues.
Construction work is expected to begin soon for several more grant-funded projects in Somers Point, including the following:
— Utilizing a $145,870 Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, the city is preparing a bayfront neighborhood flood mitigation plan. The scope of work includes a topographic survey, video inspection and hydraulic analysis of the existing storm sewer system along Bay Avenue from the outfall to Shore Road, and conceptual engineering site plans and design recommendations for improvements. The engineering design will include all necessary analysis and reports to support the future flood mitigation project.
— The city has received a $350,000 grant from the DOT for a project to improve safety along Ocean Avenue from Steelman to Atlantic avenues. The project includes the installation of new curbs and sidewalks and the repaving of Ocean Avenue. The DOT has approved the city’s plans.
— A $500,000 DOT grant will cover the costs of repaving Colwick Drive, Exton Road and Devon Road. The DOT has approved plans for the project, which also includes drainage improvements and concrete repairs. Bids were expected to be received by mid-October with construction anticipated to start at the end of the month.
— The largest of these recent grants is an $861,000 Safe Streets to Transit grant from the DOT for pedestrian safety improvements to Shore Road from Ocean Heights to Goll avenues. The city hosted a public forum on the project Sept. 14. The Safe Streets to Transit program utilizes Transportation Trust Fund dollars to improve safety and accessibility for mass transit riders in the vicinity of transit facilities. These funds serve to advance transportation initiatives without burdening local property taxpayers.
The city applied for the Safe Streets to Transit funding last year and city officials recently learned of the award and specific dollar amount. The project is now in a preliminary design phase in consultation with Atlantic County planners and all suggestions from the Sept. 14 hearing will be considered in the design.
Work will include new ADA-compliant handicap ramps at intersections, new crosswalks and installation of a rectangular rapid flashing beacon at key intersections. Final design is anticipated to be completed in early 2024 with bidding in early spring 2024 and construction completed before Memorial Day.
Somers Point has a Grant Steering Committee comprised of City Administrator Jason Frost, members of City Council, the city’s grant writer (Rutala Associates) and engineer (Kates Schneider Engineering).
The committee meets periodically to evaluate the city’s infrastructure needs and identify potential grants that can help meet those needs. Once the grant money is received, actions are taken to spend the money to accomplish what the committee has set forth.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff