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8:40 p.m. update: Abandoned federal program still providing loans to Millville merchants
By EDWARD VAN EMBDEN
Published: Thursday, December 04, 2008
MILLVILLE — The program was abandoned by the federal government more than 20 years ago, but in Millville the Urban Development Action Grant, a once nationwide program, remains viable because of recycling.Don Ayres, the city’s economic development director, said the program was introduced in the 1970s, but was eventually eliminated in the mid-1980s with a regime change in the White House.The Housing and Urban Development program was designed to spur job creation and investment in older communities, such as Millville, and give the city the power to distribute and recollect funds, he said.The recent distribution of UDAG funds in the city, in the form of $160,000 that was made available to qualified downtown merchants as part of the city’s newest loan program, is simply a redistribution of loan payments made to the city 20 years ago.See Friday's edition of The Press for more details.
