Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Brownfields Redevelopment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City pursues $500,000 brownfields assessment; officials say it could unlock multi‑million cleanup funding
Summary
Officials told the council they’ve contracted MANTROS to support a $500,000 brownfields assessment grant application; if awarded, assessments could enable cleanup funding estimated at "potentially $4 million per year," and work ties to redevelopment projects including a film studio and housing near the high school.
Egg Harbor City staff told the Jan. 8 council meeting that the city has engaged consultants to pursue a $500,000 brownfields assessment grant that could pave the way for multi‑million dollar cleanup funding and redevelopment.
City staff said the council approved a $5,000 contract with a consultant (MANTROS) to prepare the grant application and that the mayor and staff are on weekly calls to advance the submission. An administration representative stated the assessment, if funded, “could produce potentially $4 million per year to clean up brownfields,” referring to contaminated former gas-station sites and other parcels in the city.
Council members paired the brownfields work with larger redevelopment goals discussed in the meeting: a movie studio project near the cemetery that staff said is moving toward final financing, housing development interest around the high school, and plans to engage the city planner/engineer on redevelopment concepts for White Horse Pike and the main street commercial corridor. Staff said those redevelopment projects are at differing stages and that much of the land under consideration is privately owned, requiring coordination and incentives.
Separately, council and staff discussed related transportation and infrastructure work: county-led bridge repair and resurfacing projects on Philadelphia Avenue, coordination on bike-project components, and scheduling a county public information session in February.
Staff said the city is preparing to advertise for a building-department head to manage inspections and permit workflows that relate to redevelopment and abatement programs. Council members also discussed commercial tax-abatement programs and the procedural requirement that a commercial abatement application be filed within 30 days of a certificate of occupancy; staff agreed to add abatement information to the building-department packet for developers.
Next steps noted at the meeting: complete the brownfields assessment grant application; continue redevelopment planning with the city planner/engineer; and pursue building-department recruitment and outreach to developers about abatement programs.
