SALISBURY — The town has received a $900,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state that will help improve roads and housing for the poor and provide scholarships for children.
This marks the fourth year in a row, and the fifth year of the last six, that Salisbury's application was approved in the very competitive grant process.
"This is a very important grant for the town, as these funds will help us to continue to address our housing, infrastructure and social service needs," Town Manager Neil Harrington said. "Once again, Rep. Michael Costello and Sen. Steven Baddour have come through for Salisbury in a big way. I am also proud of the work that (Planning Director) Lisa Pearson and her staff do every year to put us in a good position to be awarded with CDBG grant funding."
According to Baddour's office, Salisbury is the only qualifying community in the senator's district that received a grant in this first round of announcements. Baddour attributes that to the town's consistently strong applications, earning it money to work on a number of worthwhile efforts.
Baddour, D-Methuen, and Costello, D-Newburyport, announced the grant award recently, citing four funded projects to make neighborhood improvements and support social service agencies.
Specifically, funds will go to housing rehabilitation for low- and moderate-income homes; repairing roadway, sidewalks and drainage systems on Gardner Street; providing scholarships to at-risk children to attend the Lower Merrimack Valley Boys & Girls Club after-school programs; and emergency assistance services to low- and moderate-income families of Salisbury through the Pettengill House.
"These grants are another example of the meaningful investments that the state is making to promote economic development in our local communities," Baddour said. "Salisbury will benefit from new jobs, more vibrant neighborhoods and a stronger community."
Praising town officials for once again winning the much-sought-after grant, Costello said he was particularly happy the grant will help Salisbury on many levels: children, needy households and improvements in the Gardner Street neighborhood.
Between 2007 and 2010, CDBG funds were used to give 341 children scholarships to the local Boys and Girls Club, with 92 households also helped through its emergency assistance fund administrated through Pettengill House.
Infrastructure improvements funded over the years include Maple and Spring streets, along with design work for Lincoln Avenue and Howard George Court. In 2005, the CDBG grant paid for the expansion and renovation project at Salisbury's Senior Center.
Baddour said the CDBG program is the state's largest available resource for neighborhood revitalization projects and helps meet the housing and public service needs of low- and moderate-income communities while building and repairing infrastructure vital to the health and safety of all residents.
Administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, federal funds are distributed by the state Department of Housing and Community Development to cities and towns in Massachusetts with populations of fewer than 50,000. The maximum grant for a single community is $1 million.
"This Community Development Block Grant will help Salisbury get to work on a variety of projects that will improve the quality of life for many residents," Baddour said. "Improving public services and our infrastructure will make these neighborhoods a better place to live, work and conduct business while also generating jobs."
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