Finance Committee allocates $752,843 in ARPA funds for JBS Urban Barn; Willow urged to raise $250,000

The Green Bay Finance Committee voted unanimously on Nov. 4 to allocate $752,843 from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) site-acquisition funds to construct the JBS Urban Barn, a proposed 3,500-square-foot facility intended to support Willow’s food‑production and storage programs.

Dan, a city project manager, told the committee the architect’s preliminary design meets Willow’s needs and carries an engineer’s estimate of roughly $1,000,000 including a 10% construction contingency. The staff presentation noted the city’s ARPA account balance available for this use is $752,843 and that, if the city uses ARPA money, the funds must be spent by Dec. 2026 to meet federal timelines.

Willow consultant Tara Yang, who spoke during an open-floor comment period, said the organization had secured federal grants that cover some equipment and programming but remains short of the full construction cost. “We scaled this down significantly to get just below a million dollars,” Yang said. She told the committee Willow would undertake a short capital campaign to raise the roughly $250,000 shortfall if the city approves the requested ARPA allocation.

Yang described expected program benefits: a food‑processing and pack/wash area, cold storage for a walk‑in refrigerator and freezer funded by separate grants, and space that would allow small producers to convert surplus or unsold produce into value‑added products for sale to institutions and retailers. She said Willow’s regional work surveys about 200 small producers and that the facility would reduce wasted food and expand local economic opportunity.

Committee members asked staff to confirm how prior council actions and the ARPA MOU affect flexibility for reallocating those ARPA dollars. Director Ellenbecker and Dan said staff would pull and circulate the ARPA MOU filed with the U.S. Treasury and check other potential funding options, including bonding and Tax Increment District (TID) funding; staff noted Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds are possible but would trigger federal Davis‑Bacon prevailing‑wage requirements that increase construction costs.

Members also highlighted program and budget options: the architect’s estimate includes an approximately $100,000 allowance for restroom construction, and staff said reducing the building’s footprint would force removal of either production space, cold storage, or restrooms. Committee members discussed the opportunity cost of using funds that had earlier been designated for land acquisition for affordable housing, and several said they wanted to explore alternatives before the city council vote but were mindful of the ARPA spend deadline.

After discussion an alder moved to allocate $752,843 from the ARPA site‑acquisition account to the JBS project with the request (not a requirement) that Willow raise $250,000 to match; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Staff said the item will be brought forward to council and that they will supply the ARPA MOU and additional funding‑source details to the committee before that meeting.

The committee recorded no formal changes to the project scope as part of the motion; members directed staff to return with clarifying documents and to include the item in the upcoming council agenda so bid documents can be developed in time to meet the federal spending deadline.