The city of Springfield, Massachusetts has announced new plans for spending part of its COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue and Recovery Plan law.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno announced the creation of a $12 million Neighborhood Economic Recovery Fund that can be tapped to pay for a broad range of projects and initiatives including street and sidewalk improvements, parks, business investment, cultural access, communication infrastructure, and community facilities.
“Not only to stabilize neighborhoods after this COVID-19 pandemic, but make them thrive, that’s what I’m looking to do here,” Sarno said.
The idea for the fund came from a series of over 30 meetings Sarno held with the city’s neighborhood councils throughout last summer and fall where he said “common concerns” emerged.
“A lot of things went to quality-of-life stuff,” Sarno said.
Sarno announced the establishment of the fund at a gathering of members of several neighborhood councils at City Hall.
“Now, we might be able to give everybody everything they want,” he cautioned.
Applications to the fund can be made by neighborhood councils and also businesses, nonprofits and even individuals, but the proposals must demonstrate neighborhood-wide benefits, city officials stressed.
There are other caveats. Not all of the city’s 17 neighborhoods will be able to utilize the fund, just the lower-income areas of the city that were most-impacted by COVID, said Tim Sheehan, the city’s Chief Development Officer.
“COVID certainly put increased demands on the commercial corridors in all of our neighborhoods…and it was a challenge for many neighborhoods,” Sheehan said.
Leaders of neighborhood councils who assembled at City Hall to hear details about the new fund praised the Sarno administration for creating it.
Walter Kroll, the president of the McKnight Neighborhood Council, said it will be transformative.
“Sometimes you are putting Band-Aids on things and you have a chance now to actually create some real change which I think helps everybody,” Kroll said.
Mary Ellen O’Brien, a member of the Hungry Hill Neighborhood Council said it has the potential to make Springfield a more attractive place to live.
“Sidewalks will be looked at, roads will be looked at and that will make people want to stay in the neighborhoods,” she said.
The city Offices of Community Development and Disaster Recovery have scheduled three virtual meetings to explain the application process and answer questions.
The application deadline is June 15, 2022.
