City Council inches closer to approving $1 million in ARPA funding

A year after approving $9.5 million in projects funded by Federal funds to respond to the the impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Las Cruces City Council moved closer to dispersing the final $1 million – for a second time.

The City was allocated over $24 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds by the U.S. Treasury and $10.4 million was set aside by the City to be used to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on households and small businesses.

One of the programs the City ultimately approved in September 2022 was a $1 million grant to California-based tech company BitWise Industries to be used for workforce development. BitWise filed for bankruptcy over the summer and did not move operations to Las Cruces.

During a City Council work session on Tuesday, staff presented five new workforce development programs that could be funded with the $1 million intended for BitWise with the goal of addressing low labor force participation rates, childcare provider shortage due to the pandemic, increased homelessness rates and a need to expand upskill training.

“We were looking forward to the opportunity to work with BitWise and have their apprentice program be a success," said Irene Parra from economic development, who presented the five projects to Council.

"When this opportunity came back to us, we were all so very grateful that we not only felt one program that could do some good, but there were several and not just one partner, but there were several."

Parra outlined the following five projects on Tuesday that would be funded with Council approval:

• Transitional job training: $240,000

• Childcare microgrant Program: $150,000

• Childcare Provider Accelerator Program: $150,000

• Apprenticeship/Pre-Apprenticeship: $300,000

• Manufacturing training: $100,000

There would be an additional $60,000 to be reserved for additional programming or  administrative costs.

"What we probably hear the most about up here is crime, the problems in our city and what are we doing," Councilor Becki Graham said. "This is what we are doing. These kinds of programs addressing root cause problems with long term solutions, but also with short term strategic programming to make people's lives better right now."

Parra said economic development will return to Council at its November 6 meeting with a resolution to implement the programs with the hope of launching the five programs in January 2024, well ahead of the December 2024 deadline to obligate ARPA funds.

A closer look at the programs

Transitional Job Training: The City would partner with Doña Ana Community College to conduct a 4-6 week training program for those at or below the poverty level or experiencing housing insecurity. The program will include 150 participants over three years with the goal of reentering the workforce. Clients will receive case management with job search and placement and a stipend at the conclusion of training.

Citing a May 2023 report by the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee, Parra said New Mexico has seen a 48 percent increase in those experiencing housing insecurity, with disconnection from former employment and lower educational achievements among the causes.

Parra said similar initiatives funded by the US Department of Labor and US Department of Housing and Development over a five-year period saw 59 percent of participants obtaining employment within one year of completing training, 24 percent entering competitive employment and four percent becoming self employed.

“Paid employment along with healthcare and housing plays a crucial role in eradicating poverty,” Parra said.

Childcare Microgrant Program: The City’s economic development department would take the lead on this project, which seeks to  help childcare providers negatively impacted by the pandemic and build back capacity for businesses that were lost.

Citing data from a Ready Nation Council for A Strong America 2022 report, Parra said the childcare crisis has cost New Mexicans $586 million in lost earnings, productivity and revenue.

“Ensuring that parents can access childcare so they can work and build successful careers to support their families strengthens the community, the workforce and the community,” Parra said.

Childcare Business Accelerator Program: Funding will help increase the number of providers in Las Cruces. Participants will learn best practices to starting a business, bookkeeping, accounting, marketing and branding and connect participants to resources and caregiver networks. The City will partner with the Dona Ana County Early Childhood Education Coalition, Small Business Development Center and WESST.

According to a New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department estimate, as many as 72,000 children under the age of six are eligible for free childcare based on income, but only 26 of those families are receiving those services, Parra said. There are roughly 13,498 children under 5 in Doña Ana County in need of childcare services and 66 percent of children under 6 live below the 200 percent federal poverty line according to a 2022 needs assessment conducted by the New Mexico State University Center for Community Analysis and the Doña Ana County Early Childhood Communication report, Parra said.

Apprenticeship/Pre Apprenticeship Support: This program will expand local Southern New Mexico Independent Electrical Contractors Inc. apprenticeship program and support the Pre-Apprenticeship pilot program and transportation for Las Cruces Public Schools participants.

Using data from the US Department of Labor, 94 percent of apprenticeship graduates retain employment with an average annual salary of $70,000, Parra said, but there are only two registered apprentice programs are in Las Cruces.

Current Southern New Mexico Independent Electrical Contractors Inc., Board President, Bryan Eichelberger got his start with a similar program in Las Cruces.

“I personally went through the apprenticeship program myself right out of high school," said Eichelberger, who is the President of LE Electric in Las Cruces. "My son, who is about to graduate, will be doing the same thing. That's a testament to how much I believe in it. My brother, who went through it, is now an electrical engineer.

"We appreciate you (Council) for considering us for this and we are very hopeful that we can utilize these funds in the best way possible for our community."

Manufacturing/advanced manufacturing training: Funding will assist employers in upskilling their current workforce with industry certifications surrounding automation and advanced manufacturing. The City is partnering with the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance and DACC.

“We are trying to train people for jobs that we don't even know exist yet because the way the technology is changing so quickly," Graham said.

"I think anything that can make the programming specific to workplaces and work cultures that folks are going to transition to locally is all the better."

The workforce program would be the final allocation of federal ARPA money to complete what was a long and winding process. In addition to the BitWise Industry bankruptcy, the City reset its selection process following an internal audit of its process that concluded the fairness of the eligibility review phase of the process was indeterminable due to lack of documentation such as a scoring rubric, and procurement code violations had been committed. In May of 2022, City Council approved a resolution to adopt its new ARPA Eligibility Process and Guide.

The City received 21 applications, of which 11 eligible projects were presented to the ARPA Scoring Committee in May 2022 and 10 were recommended for funding. In September 2022, the City allocated the funds again to 10 projects, one of which was BitWise Industries through the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico to be used for workforce development.

The BitWise saga

After a rocky start to approving projects, BitWise Industries through the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico was granted roughly $1 million to be used for workforce development.

Las Cruces was the only city in New Mexico that BitWise was set to expand to, but ultimately, the California tech company that specializes in training workers for tech jobs, will not open operations in Las Cruces after all.

In June, Bitwise Industries furloughed 900 employees and fired its CEOs. There were nine employees who worked in El Paso or Las Cruces, according to reporting from the El Paso Times.

The money was never dispersed, but the City Manager’s office recommended the creation of a new workforce programming and five new projects were proposed and presented to the Economic Development Policy Committee in August.

The ARPA funds for the other nine projects that were approved at the same time and have been dispersed, were:

• Mesilla Valley Community of Hope; Housing Risk Mitigation Funds, $300,000

• Community Action Agency of SNM; Guaranteed Basic Income Project: $1.7 million

• Jardin de los Niños; Flourishing Families Infant Mental Health Program; $350,000

• Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico; COVID-19 Recovery Fund; $550,000

• New Mexico Housing and Community Development Corp; Peachtree Affordable Housing Project; $2 million

• Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces; New Facility; $1.388,000

• Cruces Creatives; Economic and Educational Recovery; $1 million

• Mesilla Valley Public Housing Authority; Oak Street Veterans Affordable Housing Project; #305,853

• Liftfund; Revitalize Las Cruces Small Businesses; $1 million

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: City Council inches closer to approving $1 million in ARPA funding