Solano County annual report says ARPA funds fully obligated; highlights parks, housing, library and energy projects

Solano County officials on Tuesday told the Board of Supervisors that the county's condensed annual report highlights spending of federal pandemic relief funds and a range of projects aimed at parks, public health and infrastructure.

County Administrator Bill Amlin and colleagues said the county has completed a multi-year process to obligate its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars and is using that funding for a mix of immediate and longer-term projects.

The report matters because it summarizes where one-time federal funding and other county efforts are being directed and how those investments will affect public services, infrastructure and planning across the county.

Bill Amlin, the county administrator, told the board that the county "went back and counted" ARPA actions and has processed contracts and obligations across many areas of the budget. "We are now fully obligated as of the end of the year," Amlin said, adding that the board and staff used the funds for projects ranging from workforce development to park infrastructure and behavioral-health housing.

Amlin and staff cited several examples shown in the report: the county has processed more than a hundred ARPA-related contracts and recorded dozens of board actions on ARPA allocations; capital work and utilities upgrades were funded at Lake Solano and Sandy Beach Park; and the county added a large new park property, Patuino Park, to the Solano County parks system.

The presentation listed other county initiatives and program results:

- Parks and open space: Patuino Park was described as roughly 1,500 acres with about 12 miles of trails and an "all-people" trail; county staff said parks drew more than 220,000 visitors over the last year. The report also noted investment in water and wastewater systems at park sites.

- Housing and behavioral health: The Park Rose permanent supportive housing acquisition in Fairfield was described as a 52-unit, roughly 28,000-square-foot facility intended to house behavioral-health clients and reduce reliance on emergency systems.

- Schools and early learning: The county described an ambitious renovation of the former Beverly Hills Elementary School in Vallejo into an early-learning center. The report says the county received a $500,000 contribution from Congressman John Garamendi toward that project and that portions of the facility are expected to open in 2025, with an eventual plan for 15 classrooms, including infant-only rooms.

- Libraries and community programming: The "Sustaining Solano" program, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, will offer outdoor field trips, cooking classes and seed libraries at seven branches. Library renovations were also reported for the Lattice Civic Center Library (noted as temporarily closed for a planned 3,600-square-foot expansion).

- Health and human services: Child support services won an innovation award for a flexible case-management pilot. The county's oral-health program provided screenings and varnish to hundreds of students; vital-statistics staff processed several thousand birth certificates and many more death certificates and burial permits during the referenced period.

- Agriculture and pests: County agricultural inspectors reported intercepting dozens of exotic pests and inspecting thousands of plant shipments entering local retailers and nurseries.

- Energy and planning: Officials summarized renewable-energy work, noting full installation of county solar at several facilities, ongoing EV charger installation and pending microgrid work delayed by supply-chain issues. The county said it adopted an urgency moratorium on siting large battery energy storage systems while staff draft a permanent ordinance to address siting, fire-suppression costs and impacts to agricultural land.

- Habitat and flood work: The report highlighted the Lookout Slough habitat-restoration and flood-control project as a large restoration opportunity with benefits for fish habitat and flood management.

Officials acknowledged the report is selective and that a fuller, expanded version is available online. Amlin thanked staff and named Matthew Davis as the staff lead on the annual report compilation.

Board members used the presentation to draw attention to program specifics they said they will monitor in coming months, including the Beverly Hills renovation schedule, microgrid completion and the battery-storage ordinance drafting timeline.

The board was asked to encourage residents to review the full report and noted many of the items in the annual report were the result of multi-department collaboration.

Ending

The presentation concluded with an invitation for residents to view the expanded annual report online and with board thanks to staff for the multi-department effort. Officials said implementation details and follow-up timelines for several items will be brought back to the board as projects move from planning to implementation.