SOUTH HADLEY — Town leaders are the latest in the region to consider how to spend millions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief funding.
At the March 2 Select Board meeting, Town Administrator Lisa Wong revealed 41 requests that town agencies and other organizations have made for funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA.
South Hadley received $5.3 million in ARPA funding in total, with $936,074 in spending already approved as of Feb. 24, most of that going to mold remediation at the high school and some $95,000 on COVID-19 expenditures. That leaves around $4.3 million left to be allocated by town officials, who have received some $6 million in eligible requests, Wong said. While some of those requests were for immediate funding, others were more long term. The town has until 2024 to spend the money.
The town has been soliciting proposals from organizations looking to complete a project with ARPA funding. At last week’s meeting, Wong laid out who had applied for the money.
Of the total number of funding proposals, 60.7% of those were infrastructure proposals, 18.8% were municipal requests to make up for lost revenue, 10.1% were for COVID mitigation and 6.2% were for additional public health staff. Household assistance accounted for 1.9% of the requests, small businesses 1.7% and housing 0.7%.
Some proposed infrastructure projects include $236,000 for masonry and repointing work on town hall, $150,000 to create electronic filing systems in the town clerk’s office, $20,000 for accessibility improvements at the library and $30,000 in conservation area trail improvements. Water infrastructure was also on the list, including a $2.3 million upgrade to the Judd Brook Interceptor and $350,000 to upgrade the Morgan Street Pump Station.
Many of the infrastructure requests have also been made as part of the town’s capital planning process, such as the possibility of $605,000 in HVAC upgrades at the middle and high schools, $97,000 in sprinkler system upgrades at Ledges Golf Club, and $126,405 to replace an old and poorly functioning heating system at the Police Department.
The South Hadley Health Department requested $252,750 for a public health nursing coordinator, which would cover that employee’s salary from July 1, 2022, through Dec. 20, 2024. And the Select Board approved a $11,520 request Tuesday to fund a public health nurse through the rest of the year, beginning immediately, to do contact tracing and case investigation.
The Select Board also approved at its meeting last week $40,000 for the town to update its housing production plan and $100,000 for design work related to the Judd Brook Interceptor project.
Other projects on the list include: $85,000 to replace a Council on Aging minibus, $30,000 for Neighbors Helping Neighbors to address food insecurity, $100,000 in business support through the town, $130,000 for the town to protect the 210-acre Lauzier Farm, $25,000to develop public access to Lithia Springs, $65,000 to remove the hazardous Queensville Dam at Titus Pond, and $110,000 for Fire District No. 2 to purchase a generator.
The town will be considering the projects moving forward on a rolling basis, Wong said.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.