Agreements (RCAs). “Municipalities (in New Jersey) who are required to build affordable housing but don’t want to, can give their money away to municipalities who can use it, provided that they use the funds to fulfill their obligations” he explains. “Well, we were happy to take that money. And so far, we have distributed over $2 million, interest-free, to over a hundred homeowners in Palmyra to fix up their homes. Those loans are all forgivable if they stay for ten years and it’s another program that directly benefits our homeowners.” ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE “We have 23 miles of roads that we own and operate and it’s a program that everybody can see and feel,” Gural states. “So, in recent years, we’ve undertaken a very aggressive campaign to address as many roads as we’re able. Our engineer (Environmental Resolutions Inc.) inspects and ranks the conditions of all of our roadways. We then use that as one of the tools to determine which roads we should be moving into next as far as improvements are concerned. We apply for grants for those roads and attack the biggest problem areas first. Of all of the roads, 70% of them are ranked either ‘new’ or ‘good.’ There are about 8% that we consider in poor condition. The 2024 road program is well under way and we’ve already got plans and grant applications for the ’25 road program.” “We fully expect to improve all roads that need it by 2026. We spend about a million dollars in road improvements a year. That’s huge for a town of our size. But we have a dedicated grant writing company – Community Grants Planning and Housing. At one point, Palmyra had received more grant funds than any other community, per capita, in south New Jersey. That’s how successful we have been at it. So that $1 million is offset by a significant number of grants we received from the state for road improvement programs.” “Two years ago, we received a grant of $343,000 from the state to improve an area in our community that was very prone to flooding during times of storms,” Gural continues. “Our engineer designed a subterranean collection system of 30,000-plus gallons in order to collect and redistribute that storm water into the river. What we built on top was a Photo Credit: Jennifer Carr Photography and Environmental Resolutions, Inc. One of three current redevelopment projects; former Knights of Columbus building on Broad St. being converted to R&D offices for engineers/scientists employed by Sea Box of Cinnaminson, NJ. The improvements will include a “Welcome to Palmyra” monument and anchor our downtown district. 7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 09 PALMYRA, NJ VOLUME 4, ISSUE 01
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