On March 18, 2022, the City announced that a resolution will be brought to the April 4, 2022 Council meeting with staff proposed recommendations for the spending of $24.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
https://www.a2gov.org/news/pages/article.aspx?i=867
The resolution is not yet on a Council agenda – but is part of a memo dated Feb 25, 2022 from Interim City Administrator Milton Dohoney Jr.
http://a2gov.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10558367&GUID=F69A5EA6-A112-4D64-80AC-597418CF2C3F
As listed on page 10 of the memo, these are the proposed allotments:
Proposed ARPA Funding (Total $24,182,630)
- $4,500,000 Solar on City Facilities
- $3,500,000 Property Acquisition for Affordable Housing
- $3,500,000 Unarmed Response
- $2,300,000 Gallup Park Bridge
- $2,000,000 Galvanized Water Service Line Replacement
- $2,000,000 Vision Zero Plan Implementation
- $1,682,630 Coordinated Funding Support
- $1,600,000 Universal Basic Income
- $1,000,000 City Clerk Election Center
- $1,000,000 Housing for Homeless Households
- $500,000 Community and Law Enforcement Data Platform
- $500,000 Funding for the Arts
- $100,000 Liberty Plaza
As the news release from the City states, “City Council will take community input into consideration to make the final decision about what projects receive ARPA funds at its April 4 meeting.“
As a reminder, an email sent to CityCouncil@a2gov.org will reach all Council Members and the Mayor.
BACKGROUND
In Oct 2021, I wrote about the initial plans for distributing the ARPA funds, which proposed Council decide the allocation by early December 2021 with a rushed timeline for public engagement.
https://www.a2elnel.com/post/prioritizing-american-rescue-plan-funds
Public engagements sessions were then scheduled for January 2022, which I wrote about here:
https://www.a2elnel.com/post/american-rescue-plan-public-engagement-sessions-jan-12-20-2022
In my Feb 19, 2022 newsletter I wrote about the results of the City’s public engagement sessions and survey, which at the time did not include specific funding for the arts:
https://www.a2elnel.com/post/additional-thoughts-feb-19-2022-arpa-funding-priorities-and-the-arts