Cranbury Committee Approves Using $30K Grant for Affordable Housing Improvements

The Cranbury Township Committee unanimously approved the use of grant funds to improve low-to-moderate-income housing in the community at its Monday night meeting.

The $29,700 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is given to Cranbury annually and can be used for a variety of housing needs. This year’s proposal by the Cranbury Housing Associates (CHA), which was approved, calls for the funds to mostly go toward “architectural and engineering design services” for housing in specific township locales.

The resolution allocates the grant money to improve 32 housing units in four areas – Danser Drive, South Main Street, Bergen Place, and Old Cranbury Road. According to Mark Berkowsky, CHA’s President, 96 units have been rehabilitated in previous years using the township’s current code-compliance program. This grant is originally given to Middlesex County from the federal government and is then distributed to its various municipalities. Township Clerk Kathy Cunningham said that Cranbury’s CDBG total has remained constant for the last five years.

On the topic of land, Middlesex County Agricultural Board representative Mary Morrison informed the board that Cranbury has already preserved 2,600 acres of farmland thus far. This is the most in the county and accounts for almost half of the county's preserved farmland. The township has eight more locations targeted for preservation, which would add 600 additional acres to Cranbury’s preserved land. According to Morrison, the county hasn’t made a determination whether or not Cranbury will be selected for further open space funding. Monroe and Plainsboro are also being considered, she added.

Committeeman Dan Mulligan spoke about the importance of Cranbury’s sustained involvement in the county’s open space preservation program.

“I think it’s critical that we continue to participate in this program,” he said. “As I look at the finances of the state, we really get the short end of the stick in this town. To me this is the one piece of money that we deserve to get back [from the state].”

In other business, Committeeman David Cook clarified the county’s preliminary idea for a Liberty Way bridge. The new bridge would give truck traffic coming from the warehouse district a direct path to Interchange 8A on the New Jersey Turnpike as well as South River Road, thus bypassing Route 130 entirely. Cook said Cranbury has been in contact with the county to determine the status of the project going forward.

“A formal letter has been drafted to initiate conversation about that project,” he said. “[The letter is] not delivering an ultimatum or a decision, it’s just opening the conversation up so that we can get a better idea of where the county is going.”

The committee will meet again next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. for its final budget meeting. The next regular meeting of the Cranbury Township Committee will be Monday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.