NORTHAMPTON — The estimated cost of Northampton’s Picture Main Street project has climbed — now reaching $43.3 million — as Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra told members of the City Council and Community Resources Committee on Monday that the city has already spent about $4 million on the downtown redesign effort.
The project’s new total cost reflects an approximately $6 million increase from the city’s last estimate in March and $17 million more than the project’s initial estimate of $26.3 million two years ago.
The financing details of the project were outlined during the presentation where the mayor also discussed the project’s aims to address disability accessibility and included tense questioning from Ward 6 City Councilor Chris Stratton.
“We are on track to submit 100% design to MassDOT [Department of Transportation] next month, in June,” Sciarra said. “We have worked with Eversource to address the conflicts of design for which we did those test pits that you’ve heard about, including the additional costs that were triggered by these conflicts. We spend about $11.8 million to get a $31.5 [million] state and federal allocation flowing into Northampton, which is a pretty remarkable return for that investment that we are making.”
In total, Sciarra explained, the project is expected to cost $11.8 million out of the city’s pocket — with $3 million in anticipated funding to come from Chapter 90 and Capital Improvement funding, $5.4 million from state and federal grant funds and $3.4 million from local restricted funds.
About $8.8 million of the city’s portion of the costs has already been spent or allocated. These funds, Sciarra noted, will be matched with $31.5 million in state and federal dollars.
While most of the councilors who spoke about the project expressed general support for Picture Main Street, acknowledging the need for sidewalk and roadway safety improvements, Stratton questioned Sciarra over her claim that the city funds already spent on the project included federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money.
Stratton, arguing that he could not find any ARPA allocations in a report he read from the mayor’s office, asked Sciarra about the discrepancy. The councilor listed all the appropriated uses of ARPA funding, including funds for Department of Health and Fire Department personnel, noting that he did not see any ARPA funds allocated to Picture Main Street.
“The city filed a report with the federal government explaining exactly how we used, or will use, all $21.7 million of ARPA funds, and the feds take it very, very seriously when you tell them one thing and then do another,” Stratton said in his questions to the mayor. “Contrary to the claim we just heard from the mayor again that there is ARPA money in this project, that report shows that, in fact, there is none … Was the report to the federal government false, or is the claim that those $4.1 million [is] federal money, rather than local tax money, that is false?”
Sciarra responded to Stratton’s comment in a written statement sent to the Gazette on Tuesday, in which she noted that the ARPA funds dedicated to Picture Main Street came from reserves resulting from using $10 million in ARPA Revenue Loss funds in fiscal year 2022.
The mayor noted that under the ARPA regulations, municipalities could take up to $10 million as a “Standard Allowance,” regardless of a city’s actual loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She said Northampton reported the use of ARPA Loss Revenue in its July 2022 U.S. Treasury report, which was accepted and approved by the U.S. Treasury.
“The process of taking the Standard Allowance for the Health Department personnel services, Fire/Rescue Department personnel services, and health insurance costs resulted in an equivalent amount of $10 million added to that fiscal year’s city budget year end surplus,” the mayor wrote. “In Massachusetts, after a review of the city’s finances by the state’s Bureau of Accounts, excess funds at the end of fiscal year are certified as free cash, which is able to be spent on any lawful purpose.”
Sciarra’s presentation and debate of the project’s financial breakdown came after councilors and members of the public aired both concerns and commendations of the Main Street redesign project’s expected impact on the disabled community.
Sciarra joined Director of Planning and Sustainability Carolyn Misch and Department of Public Works Director Donna LaScaleia for a presentation on the project’s anticipated improvements to sidewalk, curb and crosswalk infrastructure downtown.
The mayor presented a video in which a woman described the challenges she faces each day while maneuvering the city in a wheelchair, as many of sidewalks often have large cracks, and presented images of lopsided curbs, wide crosswalks and other dangerous or challenging conditions for the physically disabled.
Ward 4 City Councilor Jeremy Dubs, who uses a power wheelchair, voiced his support for the Picture Main Street project, explaining that he faces challenges getting around the city every day.
“I’m here today as a disabled person … I’ve lived here for more than 20 years, and I’ve been having to deal with inaccessible sidewalks, businesses for over 20 years now. I ran for Council because I wanted to be a voice for disabled people in Northampton and try to be a representative for them,” Dubs said, outlining curb cuts throughout the city that can be dangerous for those in wheelchairs. “We have more bumps that are just really dangerous, especially if you’re not paying a lot of attention while you’re traveling in a wheelchair … you see that the driveway that leads onto the sidewalk is extremely unusable for a wheelchair user, and that becomes dangerous.”
While all of the councilors who spoke widely supported the need for safety improvements in the city and the importance of making street infrastructure safer and more manageable for the disabled community, Stratton, and many who spoke during public comment, suggested that the city improve its safety infrastructure independent from the Picture Main Street project.
However, Sciarra noted that should the city try to repair and renovate its sidewalk infrastructure without the help of the Picture Main Street project, and the state and federal aid that goes along with it, it will come at a more than $23.7 million price to the city.
Monday night’s meeting was one of many informational sessions on Picture Main Street expected this summer, At-Large City Councilor Garrick Perry said.
