CAPE MAY — The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee may look at other forms of funding after being denied a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to fund a review the Cape Island pedestrian and bicycle plan.
“I think if we continue to just look at grants as our way of going forward, we’re not going to be able to accomplish a whole lot unless we get a lot more fortunate than we did this past year in getting grants,” BPAC Chairman Jim Moffatt said during the group’s meeting Jan. 8. “We need, in my opinion, to be looking a little bit more internally at the budget if we’re going to get any improvements done regarding infrastructure projects.”
Councilman Steve Bodnar, liaison to the BPAC, called it a setback.
“We need that plan to be able to move forward with other improvements that we were seeking,” he said. “The grant funding was to review the plan and steps for implementation.”
Bodnar received notification of the denial from City Manager Paul Dietrich, who was unable to attend the meeting due to a scheduling conflict. He believed the grant was for $200,000.
“There is not an appeal process, but there is a process that you can get an explanation, a debrief, as far as with the process,” Bodnar said, adding that Dietrich was going to schedule a meeting with USDOT to get feedback on the application.
The city has been invited to apply to the grant program again in 2027.
“In the notice the city received in the denial, they did indicate that there was a significant interest in the grant monies that were available for this past round of funding,” Bodnar said. “75 percent of the applications were not approved, so just based off the percentages, those aren’t great numbers.”
Bodnar added that USDOT anticipates about $1 billion in funding for 2027.
“We’re going to go through the process of getting the debrief, and I would like to have the city manager come to a Bike and Pedestrian meeting to discuss what can be done trying to move forward,” Bodnar said.
Moffatt said he would like to meet with Dietrich before the next BPAC meeting to get his thoughts.
“[It also] means there is going to be a lot of competition next year for these big pots of money,” Moffatt said. “There’s certainly no guarantee that we’re going to be approved for whatever we submit next year.”
Bodnar agreed that having a conversation with Dietrich would be beneficial moving forward.
Reorganization
In other business, Bodnar moved to have Moffatt continue in his role for 2026.
“I think Jim’s done a great job as far as being chairperson and indicated a willingness to continue in the role,” Bodnar said. Moffatt said he was honored to have the responsibility for a good committee.
The secretary nomination was deferred until next month, as not all members were in attendance.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
