Ramsey July 18, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Ramsey officials have decided to commit the borough’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund monies to cover the costs of supportive housing for autistic adults, a housing rehabilitation program, and an energy efficiency project for the borough’s affordable housing inventory. “We are moving forward in using our Affordable Housing Trust Fund for borough residents, including those with special needs,” Ramsey Mayor Christopher Botta said last week. New Jersey municipalities had until July 17 to commit their trust funds to affordable housing projects. If decisions have not been made by that deadline, municipalities risk having the funds seized by the state. The money in the trust funds was pro- Borough to construct special needs housing vided by fees paid by developers. The fees are to be used for various projects associated with affordable housing, including the construction of such housing, the purchase of affordable housing sites, and rehabilitation projects. The Ramsey Council recently received the Department of Community Affairs’ approval to spend its trust fund money for supportive housing for autistic adults. The commissioner of the DCA authorized the borough to spend $1,450,880 from the borough’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The trust fund balance of $336,640 will be spend on a rehabilitation program to address the borough’s 15-unit rehab share, a program designed to maintain existing affordable sales units and improve their energy efficiency, and an additional contribution to the housing for autistic adults. The council has already transferred $800,000 from the borough’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund to allow Ramsey Housing Corporation, Inc. and its non-profit partners to work on the construction of a residence on a 3.14-acre Airmount Avenue property. The residence, which will be called Airmount Woods, will serve eight adults with autisum spectrum disorders and will include 24-hour on-site staffing and supervision. The project will be constructed with the aid of Bergen County’s United Way, the Madeline Corporation, and New Horizons in Autism, Inc. Approvals for the associated subdivision, site plan, variance, and soil movement have already been granted by the Ramsey Planning Board. The borough’s resolution approving the use of the trust fund money for this project The Ramsey Seniors will travel by a bus to Essex, Connecticut on Aug. 22. This trip will include lunch at the Griswold Inn, a stream train ride, and a cruise on the Connecticut River aboard a paddlewheel boat. The cost is $70 per person and registration is under way at borough hall. The seniors have elected officers and Seniors plan trip, announce officers trustees for the upcoming year. Those reelected for one-year terms include Douglas Rennie, president; Joanne Bockhorn, vice president; Filly Darmiento, secretary; and Carol Tonnon, treasurer. Trustees serving three-year terms are Joanne Bockhorn, Joel Katz, Artie Keys, Douglas Rennie, Valarie Shurko, and Doris Stellingwerf. notes that the incidence of autism in New Jersey is among the highest in the nation. Housing for individuals with autism has emerged as an acute need for the first generation of young adults who are aging out of public and private autism education programs, the document states. The resolution further states that Airmount Woods is an essential component of the borough’s affordable housing plan. In other business, the council retained Community Grants, Planning and Housing as the borough’s professional administrator of rehabilitation programs for a Council on Affordable Housing rehabilitation project. The borough will pay $10,000 for this professional service. In addition, Piazza & Associates, Inc. was retained to administer an HVAC and water heater replacement program for the borough’s affordable housing inventory within the Timber Valley Development at a cost not to exceed $10,000.