Lower Merion Decides How to Spend $900,000 in Community

Lower Merion officials spent two hours Wednesday night deciding how to split a shrinking annual pool of federal grant money among many community services.

For the year 2012-2013, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is disbursing about $900,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds, down from about $1,080,000 in 2011-2012. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

Readers can browse the full list of CDBG allocations from the past year, and proposals for the coming year, in the PDF attached to this article.

Aside from many organizations getting less than they did last year, as a function of the overall decrease, township staff made a few substantial changes:

• Adding $44,000 for sidewalks on Edgevale Road in Wynnewood and $50,000 for various curb cuts
• Eliminating a business-assistance program for Ardmore businesses, which got $50,000 last year
• Adding $60,000 to study the future space and program needs of the Ardmore Avenue Community Center and PALM senior center
• Adding $50,000 to help flip homes to low-income families

Christine Vilardo of the Ardmore Initiative argued in favor of restoring the business-assistance program for next year, as did past grant recipient Jean Broillet, who is in the process of starting up the Tired Hands Brewing Company on Ardmore Avenue.

"I'd argue this type of grant money is exactly what builds a community," Broillet said.

Though the current year's $50,000 has not been spent, Vilardo said there are two strong candidates—businesses she did not identify—to get the money.

Most of the commissioners in the Building and Planning Committee meeting approved Board President Liz Rogan's motion to spend the $50,000 for curb cuts on the business-assistance program instead.

A smaller majority backed Commissioner Brian Gordon's motion to nix the $60,000 community center study. Because the CDBG formula is complicated, the money could not be spent just anywhere else, Building and Planning Director Bob Duncan told the board. That decision will have to be made before the township submits a funding plan to HUD May 15.