With housing rehabilitation no longer eligible for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and handicapped ramp construction problematic, Northampton Borough is seeking CDBG funds to improve 14 streets in the borough that, if left unattended, may fall into disrepair within three to five years.

Borough council held a special meeting April 20, which was open to the public, for the purpose of coming up with recommendations on how it could spend the CDBG money if a proposal submitted to the Northampton County Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) is approved.

Borough Planner Victor Rodite suggested a proposal to repair 14 streets be submitted to Northampton County.

The projected cost, according to Rodite, is $120,680. There is a possibility that an additional street would be placed on the list.

“Housing rehabilitation is no longer possible for the borough. It is only provided by Northampton County,” Rodite said. “Handicapped ramps have been an expensive project, with not enough contractor competition to afford the best result for our investment. Currently, our municipal parking lots do not need additional improvement.

“Comprehensive plan update is a possible activity,” Rodite said. “However, after our borough manager (LeRoy Brobst) and I examined the various options, our best type of project is a street-paving project in CDBG-eligible areas of the borough.”

Councilman Ed Pany said the borough was very successful over more than two decades in seeking housing rehabilitation for qualified homes, mentioning more than $1 million was well spent.

The CDBG program is a federally funded grant program administered by the county’s DCED. For years, the borough submitted its CDBG grant applications to the state, without issue. More recently, counties were given such review and authority.

Looking over the list of recommended streets, Pany said he noticed no road projects for the second and third wards. Rodite replied the wards do not meet CDBG guidelines.

Pany pointed out the borough, according to reports, has one of the lowest per-capita incomes in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

“We do a marvelous job with our tax money,” Pany added.

Brobst said the streets recommended for upgrading may not need immediate repaving, but in three to five years, the cost would be higher.

“It will be a plus in the long run,” Brobst said.

The streets recommended for repaving are:

• West 16th Street, Newport Avenue to Canal Street

• Vienna Street, West Fourth to Church streets

• Cedar Street, West 14th to West 16th streets

• Czapp Avenue, Newport Avenue to Stewart Street

• Williams Street, Poplar to Canal streets

• Newport Avenue, West 17th to Lumber streets

• Lumber Street, Newport Avenue to Canal Street

• Stark Street, Poplar to Canal streets

• Maple Street, Stark to West 16th streets

• Chestnut Street, Poplar to Maple streets

• Roethline Court, Poplar to Cedar streets

• Stewart Street, West 14th to Canal streets

• East 23rd Street, Dewey to Hokendauqua avenues

• Franklin Street, West 17th to West 19th streets