Gina Armstrong and Deanna Ruffer are the co-managers of Pittsfield’s American Rescue Plan Act team. Armstrong offered a summary of the most recent activity over the last quarter of the ARPA plan calendar.
“For the quarter July 1st through September 30th, total expenditures, just under $1.6 million," said Armstrong. "So, you'll see significant increase from prior quarters. 59% of the funds expended were in the infrastructure projects. 32% related to negative economic impacts due to the pandemic. 4% of projects and expenditures were in the category of revenue replacement, 3% under administration, and 2% related to public health COVID 19 response and capacity building. Total expenditures reported through September 30th is slightly over $3.6 million. So, we did have a significant increase in the last quarter. So, you'll see 70% for infrastructure projects total, which is 2% in revenue replacement, 6% for administration, 7% public health, and 15% negative economic impacts.”
Ruffer says just over $1.4 million was spent during the third quarter among community partners who received funding from the city’s ARPA money.
“We have provided grants to 37 different nonprofit entities," she told the council. "In total, those grants equal out $8.8 million in funding. Five of those are addressing public health related matters. 32 of them are addressing negative economic impacts. And in a large number of cases, those are directed directly to our residents that have been disproportionately impacted. 10 are capital projects. There is also one project that is a combination of service and capital project, and 26 of them are providing programmatic services.”
Ruffer said this was the first time since funding had been apportioned that the community groups in question were up and running with their projects.
“The majority of the 37 community partners focus on providing services in or to the residents of the West Side, Morningside, and downtown," she said. "And those three areas are defined by Treasury as qualifying census tracts, with 27 of the 37 actually located in a qualifying census tract. Others are providing services to the residents or partnering with organizations located in the census tracts. Five of the 37 are in the tourism and cultural sector, which is called out in the ARPA legislation as a particularly impacted sector. And then one of our recipients is actually located outside of Pittsfield, but they are providing services to Pittsfield residents. Actually, I believe that number should be two.”
Ruffer noted that the community projects funded by the city include efforts to expand resources for residents experiencing substance abuse issues, NARCAN training, and dance scholarships.
Armstrong turned to the public utility projects that are being funding by ARPA.
“We have the Ashley Water Treatment Facility chemical storage building, which is 42% complete," she said. "The wastewater treatment plant energy efficiency upgrades have, just gotten started. So, 5% complete there. The Cleveland Water Treatment Facility upgrades, the work has just recently begun. And sidewalk upgrade improvements primarily in those three qualified census tracts that Deanna had mentioned, those are 14% complete. So, we're really glad to get all of those underway. So additional city projects, some of these we reported on last quarter are continuing in progress. We have the community marketing campaign that is 50% complete. The fire station’s HVAC upgrades 20% complete, and a large, large library inventory control upgrade was needed, and that is underway at 10% complete.”
Armstrong says four other projects were started over the last quarter.
“Those include the fire station window replacements, Reid School ventilation upgrades, Pittsfield High School with a new HVAC system is a large project, and a second project in the library," she said. "It’s the security upgrades that have been needed.”
You can find links to the city’s ARPA reports here.
