8/12/2008
SALEM - The head of the state Department of Community Affairs visited the county Monday, touring area facilities and viewing first hand progress made in historical Salem City.
In a day that featured one part meeting old friends and one part checking how officials put to use millions in state grant funding, DCA Commissioner Joseph V. Doria Jr. said that Salem Main Street has one of the best downtown revitalization programs in New Jersey.
Salem is one of a select number of state towns designated by the DCA as a Main Street community. Because of the designation, the DCA provides Salem with technical assistance and training in revitalizing historic downtowns.
Stand Up For Salem is the non-profit organization that oversees the Salem Main Street program, which provided the major impetus for erecting the Salem Senior Village along with the Finlaw Building reconstruction and Hires Avenue parking garage. Doria toured some of the facilities in his stop here.
"You have an historic district that is probably one of the best in the state, bar-none," Doria said. "Since 1999 (Main Street) has really done a good job. Our people have been working really closely with them."
As commissioner, Doria oversees not only the Main Street program but DCA programs and services including the Divisions of Codes and Standards, Community Resources, Housing, Fire Safety, Smart Growth and Women, among others.
Doria also spent time Monday at The Memorial Hospital of Salem County and the Woodstown Friends Village. The DCA licenses both health care facilities.
Doria visited the county at the invitation of a longtime friend, Tom Pankok of Mannington. The two first met while both serving as state assemblymen in the 1980s.
During a stop at Today's Sunbeam, Doria explained that despite budget issues and the loss of over 200 employees in his department in the last two years, the DCA's Main Street program will continue.
"The staff is still there. We had to move some people around to keep it going but we are," Doria said. "There is a commitment on the part of the governor and the department to make sure the Main Street program stays."
At the moment, Main Street has a $350,000 application pending for its building fund, according to Stand Up for Salem Vice President James Waddington. It is the latest round in a history of funding that has been vital to the project's success.
"We have been in constant talks with (Doria) over the past six months," said Waddington. "It's one thing to tell someone about what we are doing, and quite another to see tangible results."
Though as Salem's program looks toward its financial future, it may be the corporate sector taking up a major philanthropic role as the state continues with its rigorous work filling the budget gap.
Doria said that a designation to receive Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credits would allow Stand up for Salem to take in up to $1 million per year in its capacity as a non-profit from local companies.
Waddington explained that for every dollar a corporation donates, it can write off as a corporate business tax credit. With community-oriented businesses such as PSEG and Mannington Mills in close proximity, Doria said the NRTC program would be a perfect fit for Salem.
"They are very good corporate neighbors," Doria said of the companies.
Waddington said Stand up for Salem is updating its neighborhood plan to qualify for the designation. Several small businesses have recently signed leases on Broadway, but he remarked the battle is never ending to enhance the city.
"I don't think you can ever declare victory," Waddington said. "It is an ongoing effort to manage the downtown."
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