'Launching the city out of the pandemic': Mayor Mitchell outlines $80M COVID relief plans
NEW BEDFORD — Mayor Jon Mitchell has outlined investment priorities for more than $80 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding.
According to a press release, Mitchell said the funds are going toward "transformational projects and programs that will leverage additional sources of capital, maximize the funding's impacts and improve the lives of city residents for generations."
“The opportunities now before New Bedford are perhaps greater than at any point in the past century,” Mitchell said in the press release. “These investments will be instrumental to launching the city out of the pandemic and promoting long-term growth that is sustainable and equitable.”
The outline sets approximate allocations for the $64.7 million that ARPA directly allocates to New Bedford, plus $16.7 million the city will receive in ARPA funds through Bristol County. The outline does not include the $46.5 million received under a separate ARPA provision by the New Bedford School Department, which is finalizing plans for those funds.
City residents weigh in: Here's how New Bedford residents want the city to spend $64 million in ARPA funds
There are four main categories for funding: replace public sector revenue loss; support the public health response; address negative economic impacts on workers, families, industries and small businesses; and make necessary investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
Mitchell shared his outline with New Bedford City Council this week. He emphasized the criteria placed on ARPA spending by the federal Department of the Treasury, which does not allow for direct spending on road construction or the lowering of taxes, for example.
Massachusetts update: Federal COVID-19 money on hold as Legislature hashes out a compromise
In virtual meetings, residents called for investments in mental health services, affordable housing, broadband infrastructure, wastewater improvements, and public safety with the latest infusion of federal COVID-19 relief funds.
In his letter to city councilors, Mitchell also emphasized the need to avoid spending the city’s ARPA dollars on uses that could be funded from other sources, such as from the $5.3 billion in ARPA dollars coming to the Commonwealth — which state officials have indicated could fund water and wastewater projects, port infrastructure and cultural facilities — or federal infrastructure spending recently signed into law by President Biden.
Bearing those principles in mind, Mitchell focused on seven key investment priorities:
Health, safety and well-being – $8 million
Neighborhood stabilization and housing support – $13 million
Small business support – $8 million
Enhancements to open spaces in qualified census tracts – $11 million
Non-state share of water, wastewater and stormwater projects – $6 million
Arts, culture, hospitality and tourism – $18 million
Matching funds for strategic investments – $14 million
About $1.2 million for revenue replacement — ARPA criteria allows for restoring operating funds lost due to COVID-19 — and $1.5 million for administration round out the priorities.
ARPA in Fall River: Mayor announces first projects using $69 million in ARPA COVID relief funds
Mitchell said that ultimately, prospective ARPA projects should be evaluated based on their potential return on investment.
“The more matching funding a project receives from private or public sources, the greater the return on the city’s investment will be,” he said. “The most favored projects would be those that confer new benefits to the city; that is, those that grow the pie, as opposed to those that entail the replacement of an existing asset.”
ARPA director introduced
The city has named Elise Rapoza as its ARPA director, tasked with navigating ARPA criteria and regulations, collaborating with potential funding recipients, tracking outcomes, documenting how spending meets ARPA goals, and more. Rapoza, a former senior research associate for the recently closed Public Policy Center at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and the university’s first assistant director of corporate engagement, has experience in regional demographics, workforce needs, and opportunities such as maritime economies and offshore wind development.
“I’m very excited about collaborating with all the people in the community who I already know and love, and getting to meet the people who I don’t already know,” Rapoza said. “There’s a lot of good things coming.”
“Elise will bring to her new role a wealth of talent, economic development expertise, and knowledge of the city,” Mitchell said. “She is the right person to activate this infusion of federal resources.”
Standard-Times staff writer Kerri Tallman can be reached at ktallman@s-t.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kerri_tallman for links to recent articles.
Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford ARPA funds: $80M going to housing, small business, arts
