When it came time for the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District to tackle the annual chore of getting its fiscal year-end books in order, the staff there stumbled upon a pleasantly unexpected surprise: For the first time in its brief history, there was a small financial surplus. It was the result of assessment taxes that local business owners pay to the BID.
Thanks to that very surplus, the stretch of
Germantown Avenue that sits between Cresheim Valley Drive and East Washington Lane will undoubtedly be even more inviting this year. That's because $3,000 of the BID's surplus is being used to execute a neighborhood beautification project that's being referred to as the "Clean and Green Program."
The program itself is simple enough: Business owners, groups, and even individuals are being encouraged to submit applications to the BID that would outline their own ideas for mini-beautification projects. The BID will then choose the smartest proposals and award the necessary funds.
"I've already gotten quite a few inquiries," says Hollie Malamud-Price, the BID's Executive Director. "I think people are excited about it because it's an opportunity for money, when money is scarce."
Applications for the program are currently being accepted on a rolling basis, although since the BID has to distribute all its funds by Sept. 30, anyone interested is being encouraged to act fast.
Along with the Clean and Green Program, the BID will also be using its surplus funds to launch a planter program--it's scheduled to begin in May--during which dozens of perennial plants will be hung from lampposts along the avenue. "As grant money becomes more available," says Malamud-Price, "I hope it can spur the ability to build upon the programs. So I'm hoping it'll (trigger) more economic development in that sense."
Email or call Malamud-Price directly to apply for Clean and Green grant money:
[email protected] or 215-844-6490.
Source: Hollie Malamud-Price, Mt. Airy BID
Writer: Dan Eldridge