Waynesville on the clock to spend last of Covid stimulus money
Apr. 17—Waynesville is on a last-minute spending spree as town leaders race to spend all of the federal pandemic relief money it received from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Town Council recently approved spending the last $302,000 out of the $3.2 million in stimulus dollars before the June 30 deadline to obligate the federal money.
The latest allocation includes everything from a new electric lawn mower to resurfacing the tennis courts, along with infrastructure repairs.
The money will fund capital items that the town needs anyway, but may not otherwise be able to afford in the upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1, Town Manager Rob Hites told council.
"These funds will help us greatly with capital funding in 2024," Hites said. "Several of the items can be purchased through these funds and thereby take pressure off the upcoming budget."
The final $302,000 is due mostly to a surplus from previously earmarked projects that either came in under budget or couldn't get spent in time.
"We found that there were several items where we had a balance, and that is quite a positive for us," Hites said.
Here's how the money will be spent:
—Water and sewer: Three separate projects for the repair of pumps and tanks at the town's water plant totals $150,000 in the latest spending of federal dollars.
The money will also pay for a $51,000 portable sewer bypass pump. The purchase means the town will no longer have to rent a unit when it is needed for sewer repairs, Hites said.
"It allows us to pump out an area where we are trying to get to a repair where we have to pump it from one man hole to another," Hites said. "We recently had to rent one for month while we had a sewer repair."
—Parks and Recreation: The recreation department will get a $22,000 Stihl electric riding lawn mower, purchased locally, with an eight-hour battery life, that can be charged overnight.
The rec department will also use $53,000 to repair and cap the outdoor tennis courts at the Recreation Park.
Tuscola High School tennis coach Rumi Kakareka recently told town council that the conditions of the courts are potentially dangerous and in dire need of repair. He said hosting tennis matches on the courts in their current condition does not present a positive image for the town.
Redoing the tennis courts have been on the rec department's wish list for a few years.
"We have wanted to reconstruct the tennis courts for a long time now, but budget constraints haven't allowed us to do so," said Recreation Director Luke Kinsland. "This resurfacing job will get the courts in better playing condition as an interim fix until we can fully reconstruct the courts."
—HVAC: The HVAC system on the second floor of old town hall will be replaced at a cost of around $26,000. The system on the second-floor the century-old building has been on its last leg.
The town will also likely receive some money back from the federal government for the purchase of the electric lawn mower and the HVAC system, since they are eligible for a federal Clean Energy Credit.
"It's 30% for the heat pump," Council Member Chuck Dickson said. "I'm not sure on the electric mower."
The federal money awarded to local governments in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan were intended to stimulate the economy and offset loss of local revenue during the pandemic.
Some of the past projects funded with Waynesville's allocation of federal pandemic stimulus money include:
—$419,000: water line replacement along Pigeon Street to facilitate repaving by N.C. DOT
—$360,000: trash truck
—$304,000: new roll-out trash cans
—$280,000: street sweeper
—$250,000: police vehicles
—$209,000: bridge over Richland Creek to facilitate greenway expansion
