Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Arpa Cdbg topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council allocates ARPA and CDBG reprogramming to sewer rehab and tree work, councilors say it saves tax dollars
Summary
The Holyoke City Council approved recommendations to reallocate ARPA and CDBG funds, prioritizing sewer rehabilitation and block tree pruning and removal; councilors said the moves avoid tapping general tax revenue for needed infrastructure.
The Holyoke City Council voted May 6 to adopt recommendations from the Office of Community Development and the Development and Government Relations committee to reallocate remaining Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward sewer rehabilitation and tree work.
DGR recommended placing $1,300,000 of ARPA funds toward Holyoke sewer rehabilitation and $200,000 toward block pruning and tree removal. The council approved the ARPA recommendations by roll-call vote (11–1), with one councilor recorded as voting no on the ARPA allocation package. The council also adopted the CDBG reallocation recommendations unanimously.
Councilor Gibner, chairing the DGR discussion, said committee members prioritized infrastructure because sewer capacity and street trees are foundational to future development. “I personally, in my gut feel like I would like to just build more housing units everywhere, but if we have no sewage, it won't matter,” Gibner said during committee discussion that the council referenced when moving the item.
Councilor Sullivan recounted an earlier March 5 unanimous council recommendation urging the mayor to use remaining ARPA funds for DPW sewer projects and said the DGR recommendation aligned with that prior council request. Councilor Jourdain noted that using ARPA funds for sewer projects can prevent general-tax expenditures later, saving taxpayers money over time.
On the CDBG reallocation, DGR recommended allocations to multiple programs and infrastructure priorities; the committee emphasized infrastructure projects where census-tract eligibility and urgent needs converge. The council adopted the CDBG allocation recommendations unanimously.
The approved actions direct the mayor and relevant departments to execute the recommended uses of federal and ARPA funds. Councilors asked that any administrative fees or program administration requests be drawn from the ARPA allocations in a manner that preserves the funding for capital needs where possible.
The votes provide the mayor and the Office of Community Development with council-backed direction for using remaining federal program dollars and ARPA allocations to address sewer infrastructure and tree maintenance projects the committee identified as high priority.
