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New Milford council backs joining regional resiliency planning grant application
Summary
Councilmembers supported committing New Milford to a NJ Regional Resiliency Planning Grant led by the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, a planning award that requires at least three contiguous municipalities and does not fund construction; a letter of commitment/resolution was requested by Oct. 29.
Councilwoman Sanders urged the Borough of New Milford to join a regional application for the New Jersey Regional Resiliency Planning Grant, saying the funding would support planning for flooding, stormwater, wildfire smoke and related infrastructure across contiguous municipalities.
“There's no cost to join this. No cost upfront and there's no it's not a matching grant,” Councilwoman Sanders said, describing the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation as the proposed lead applicant and grant administrator.
The grant covers planning and community engagement tasks — including ordinance updates and preparation for future implementation grants — but does not provide construction or “shovel-ready” project money, Sanders said. She told the council the program requires a minimum of three contiguous municipalities and typically reimburses a small number of professional planning teams; the current award cycle will make six regional awards and projects are expected to run about 18 months.
Council members asked how much municipal time would be required; Sanders said participating municipal employees could expect to spend roughly two to five hours per month, and that volunteers could represent New Milford on the regional team. She recommended the council pass a resolution and send a letter of commitment by the next meeting so the town’s application can be included before the deadline, which staff said had been extended to Oct. 29.
Why it matters: The planning grant is positioned as a low-cost way for New Milford to access regional expertise and to document existing flood‑mitigation work (including Blue Acres buyouts) that could strengthen future implementation funding requests. Joining a regional application would also give New Milford a seat at regional planning tables and a role in community outreach for resilience measures.
Next steps: Councilmembers agreed to prepare a resolution and letter of commitment for the next meeting to meet the grant application timeline.
