Wethersfield deciding fate of remaining millions in federal ARPA funds
Wethersfield was awarded $7.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding, and to date has only spent approximately $800,000, with the Town Council hearing recommendations on how the remaining funding could be spent, Town Manager Frederick Presley said.
The council received the first $3.8 million last year, and is expecting the remainder “any day now.”
At the council’s recent meeting, Presley supplied a list of more than $12 million in capital improvement projects and capital non-recurring fund project requests. In the past three years, Presley said, an average of approximately $1.8 million was supplied to those funds. He recommended that the council appropriate $1.26 million to those funds for time-sensitive projects.
“The ARPA funds can, and certainly should, be used to offset some of those costs,” Presley said. “I just want to make the push here that they should be used to really look at the generational opportunity that we have here with these funds.”
In addition to those projects, town staff recommends setting aside 10% to 15% for economic development purposes, and another 3%, or $228,000, for strategic investments in software systems that streamline processes and build efficiencies and transparency.
Presley said that recommendations for further projects and requests will be coming in August and later months. The town has until the end of 2024 to allocate the funds and until the end of 2026 to spend the funds.
Deputy Mayor Tom Mazzarella said he appreciates being able to see plans for projects before allocating the funds.
“I like to see something sooner than later,” Mazzarella said. “You can’t wait until 2024 to say, ‘Oh, we’ve got to come up with something to spend a million dollars on.’”
Mazzarella also asked about the town’s needs for new school roofs and planned upgrades to buildings.
Mayor Michael Rell said that the use of the ARPA funds could also set some precedents and that the town could make use of an employee to seek other grants. Currently, the town uses a contractor to seek grants.
“We could be a lot more aggressive going after other grants,” he said. “Ideally, after two or three years on board, this individual would be able to fund their salary. That would be the goal.”
Requesting more information on several of the other projects, the Town Council moved forward with appropriating $1.132 million for several of the time-sensitive projects.
The discussion is set to continue at the council’s August meeting. For more information, visit www.wethersfieldct.gov.
