Fall River officials present ARPA status report, cite audit clearance and remaining Lewiston Street work

City administration presented a 150‑page status report on American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Bristol County Treasury projects to the Fall River City Council Committee on Finance, saying the city has met federal obligation deadlines and cleared a recent federal single audit.

The report, delivered to the committee by a staff member who prepared the document for the mayor’s office, said, "we have expended, dollars 45,302,655 of our $69,000,000 that was city ARPA funds," and that Bristol County Treasury disbursements totaled about $14,202,513 of roughly $16 million allocated to the city. The presenter also told the committee that the single audit of March 2025 included ARPA program compliance review and returned no findings.

Committee members said the update matters because ARPA spending is tied to infrastructure, public services and future operating budgets. The presenter described how changing federal guidance — including a Treasury “flex” provision that expanded eligible surface transportation and community development projects — allowed the city to redirect funds to projects such as Lewiston Street reconstruction, water and sewer work, and surface transportation improvements.

Most of the hearing consisted of item‑by‑item follow‑ups on project status, invoices and expected completion dates. Dan Aguiar, director of engineering and planning, summarized the Quincushaw (Quicashan) Rail Trail Phase 4A: "The project was bid under contract with Century Paving... they anticipate being completed well before the project deadline of December, 30 first, 2026." He told the committee construction would begin in early June and finish well ahead of the federal deadline.

City staff walked the committee through project‑level impacts on typical household utility bills. Using a 20‑year loan at an estimated 4% interest rate, the presenter explained that combined water and sewer investments in city and Bristol County projects (about $27,121,404) would change a modeled rate increase by roughly $0.69 but result in an estimated average household saving of about $0.366 per month (about $19 per year for a three‑family home over the loan horizon) because work was shifted off department operating budgets and financed through project loans.

Committee members pressed for more up‑to‑date invoices and clearer expected completion dates on projects with limited spending to date; staff said quarterly updates will continue and the presenter planned to publish the report to the city website. Staff also told the committee that several large projects remain active — notably Lewiston Street, which staff said represents a significant portion of the remaining unspent funds — and that the city is monitoring federal expenditure deadlines (the presenter cited obligation and expenditure deadlines set by the U.S. Treasury).

Why this matters: the committee sought to confirm that ARPA money will be spent on projects that reduce costs or add long‑term infrastructure value, that compliance risks are mitigated by the clean single audit, and that the city can meet federal deadlines so funds are not clawed back. Staff repeatedly said they would supply updated invoice and completion schedules and that some budgeted amounts remain pending invoicing.

The presentation generated multiple follow‑up requests from councilors for line‑by‑line clarifications (for example, how many trees were planted under the urban forestry line; the number of artists served by an artist recovery program; invoices pending for the Boys & Girls Club teen room); staff agreed to provide those details in the next quarterly report or by direct follow‑up.