City Council OKs $3 million in ARPA funds for Spider Creek project
The final piece of the city of Bedford's application for grant funding to offset costs of a $19 million infrastructure project was approved Monday night when the Bedford City Council approved appropriating nearly $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project.
Bedford Utilities has been working under a tight deadline to apply for a Ready Communities grant from Regional Opportunity Initiatives for counties in the Indiana Uplands.
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A total of $9 million is available from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative. The goal of READI is to retain talent and attract people to the region by investing in quality of place, quality of life and quality of opportunity. Utilities Director Misty Adams said the city was applying for $7.9 million.
Bedford Mayor Sam Craig explained Adams and others at city hall had been working hard to meet the grant deadline and fulfill the requirements. Even though another round of funds can be applied for in September, Craig said Bedford stood a better chance at receiving funds this round because of a smaller pool of applicants. He said he spoke with other mayors and many cities seeking funds were unable to make the Monday deadline.
A public hearing on the ARPA funds was held prior to the council meeting. No members of the public spoke.
The appropriation ordinance passed 5-0 with Dan Bortner, Angel Hawkins, Brad Bough, Larry Hardman and Ryan Griffith voting in favor. Penny May and Judy Carlisle were absent.
A question about funds that the city council earmarked for trauma-informed care one year ago prompted the mayor to seek clarity on the original funding request and the status of a county effort to address adverse childhood experiences.
Joe Timbrook, career development director for the Lawrence County Workforce Coalition, told the council the proposed plan to address ACEs as it applies to the workforce and education was developed in collaboration with the Lawrence County Economic Growth Council and other community partners.
The coalition then applied for a grant from the IU Health Community Impact Investment Fund and part of that was to seek financial support from local entities. The city council agreed to contribute $20,000 in 2022 to the IU Health CII. In December 2021, IU Health awarded the coalition $300,000 to address workforce and education, but did not fund the trauma-informed care piece.
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Because trauma-informed care was to be addressed when the council approved the $20,000, Craig wanted the council to be updated on the funding request and its implementation.
Council members asked several questions of Timbrook and John Keesler, an associate professor at the IU School of Social Work with expertise in trauma-informed care and works with Families Forever, a Bedford nonprofit that provides recovery services. Some expressed concern TIC would no longer be addressed as they expected.
Following the discussion, the council approved splitting the donation, with $10,000 going to the growth council and $10,000 to Families Forever.
In other business, the council approved a request to make an alley one-way going south behind Lincoln Plaza Pharmacy between 61/2 Street and 71/2 Street. The pharmacy is planning to install a drive-thru pharmacy window.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: City Council OKs $3 million in ARPA funds for Spider Creek project
