TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—The township’s grant consultant says the town took in one grant — for upward of $26,000 — over the first eight months of 2021, and that it has applied for or is preparing applications for grants totaling nearly $700,000 for the township.
In a report to the governing body on Aug. 30, David Biunno of GLD Associates Inc. of Summit said the amounts were for activity from Jan. 1 to Aug. 30.
The report sparked no council or public comments at the meeting, which was led by Vice President Desserie Morgan in the absence of Council President Stacey Feeney.
“This report is an overview of the major grant-related projects and activities that GLD Associates has worked on since Jan. 1, 2021 [and] includes the various grant opportunities and related issues that were analyzed at the request of township personnel, officials and others but not pursued due to eligibility and related submission requirements,” the firm said.
The report shows one grant received for $25,586 from the Bergen County CARES program. The consultant listed an overall 16 grant activities planned or underway since Jan. 1.
Other than an ongoing emergency generator grant, “the report does not include information from prior years,” Biunno wrote.
At prior council meetings, member Michael DeSena, who is challenging Peter Calamari for mayor this year, had questioned the effectiveness of the grants consultant, and residents have asked about grant opportunities — especially Green Acres grants — to acquire tracts such as 450 Pascack Road, which the council recently offered $430,000 for.
As of Aug. 30, no council discussion of funding sources or financing options for 450 Pascack Road’s purchase or condemnation via eminent domain has occurred.
At its May 30 meeting, the council approved GLD Associates for a new one-year contract at $30,000. Earlier this year, Calamari said the township’s experience with GLD Associates “has been a positive one.”
A prior public records request by Pascack Press for calendar year 2020 showed that GLD Associates had garnered $127,000 in grants for the township, including a $72,000 Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) grant for firefighter training and retention and a $29,000 county open space grant for a dog park at Sherry Field.
We requested a copy of the 2021 report, listed near the end of the Aug. 30 council agenda under “miscellaneous.”
Copies of the five-page report were neither attached to the printed agenda nor linked to the online agenda.
According to Biunno, ongoing grant applications include: a $150,500 FEMA grant for 2020 Tropical Storm Isaias costs; an unspecified Dept. of Justice Police Body Worn Camera Grant ($2,000 per camera); $10,000 from Bergen County 200 Club for local police; a $125,748 state library construction bond grant; a $14,567 Firehouse Subs Foundation grant for new vehicle extrication equipment; a $294,698 FEMA firefighter assistance grant for 29 sets of self-contained breathing apparatus; a $25,586 Bergen County CARES Act relief grant; and a $15,705 Firefighters Covid-19 Emergency Funding grant.
Other grant activities listed include research into two state Dept. of Transportation Safe Streets grant programs that the township cannot quality for; a coronavirus state and local recovery fund that the township was not eligible for; a prior Firehouse Subs grant that was denied; a Green Acres low-interest loan program; and a grant extension from NJ Office of Emergency Management for installation of a previously awarded emergency generator grant at the new Emergency Services Building.
We reached out to Biunno and Calamari — who was not present at the Aug. 30 meeting — for comment. We did not hear back by press time.