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Town reports full obligation of ARPA allocation; $14.5M award largely spent or under contract
Summary
Finance director briefed council on the status of the town’s $14.5 million ARPA award: as of Dec. 31, 2024 the town had spent $7.6 million and put the remaining $6.9 million under contract, earned over $1 million in interest (now under contract for a culvert repair), and set a completion deadline of Dec. 31, 2026 for all projects.
Sam Sanchez, the town’s finance director, updated the council on Wake Forest’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) program and reported the town met the Treasury’s deadline for obligating funds by Dec. 31, 2024.
Sanchez said the town was awarded $14,500,000 in ARPA funds, received in two tranches, and as of Dec. 31, 2024 had either spent $7.6 million or placed $6.9 million under contract. He said the town had earned “over a million dollars” in interest on the ARPA balance and that those interest earnings have been allocated to cover project overages; the remaining interest was placed under contract for the Duncreek Culvert repair.
Sanchez summarized the four ARPA expenditure categories and notable completed projects: public safety (fire department equipment and a ladder truck funded at about $2.3 million; police replacement vehicles and comms center equipment ~$950,000), stormwater (seven assessments and watershed studies ~ $850,000; larger planned infrastructure projects totaling about $6.4 million, including dam repairs and Miller Park stream work), economic-impact and public‑health projects (~$2.0 million, including the Holding Park inclusive playground and food‑security/after‑school programming), transit and traffic projects (~$820,000, notably the Go Wake Forest microtransit launch) and broadband (~$1.8 million, including $1,000,000 to the wireless research center digital workforce hub, downtown smart‑city upgrades and fiber to fire stations 2–4). Administrative costs totaled about $440,000.
Sanchez noted compliance and reporting have been time‑consuming: the town must submit quarterly reports to the U.S. Treasury and complete projects by Dec. 31, 2026. He said supply‑chain issues and inflation have created some project delays and cost overruns but that staff continues to manage those risks.
Councilors asked whether interest earnings must be reported and Sanchez said the town elected to allocate interest to projects but “we do not have to report on those funds in any way to the feds.” Members also asked about the Kaleidoscope nonprofit project; Sanchez said Kaleidoscope is partnering with Faith Tabernacle Church to upfit basement space for after‑school programming and that the upfits are nearly complete.
What’s next: staff will continue implementation to meet the Dec. 31, 2026 completion deadline and monitor cost and schedule risks.
