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Pittsfield officials report $38.6M in ARPA obligations; $22.5M spent, projects under way
Summary
City staff told the council the ARPA team has obligated about $38.6 million and expended roughly $22.5 million through June 30, 2024, highlighting completed HVAC upgrades at Pittsfield High School, a Springside Pond rehabilitation and housing and small-business grants. Councilors pressed staff on obligation reporting and project overages.
Gina Armstrong, special project manager for the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) team, told the City Council on Aug. 27 that the city had allocated and obligated roughly $38.6 million of ARPA funding through June 30, 2024, and expended about $22.5 million to date.
Armstrong said completed projects include HVAC controls work at Pittsfield High School (budgeted at $3 million and completed at about $2.8 million) and design work for a combined heat-and-power upgrade at the wastewater treatment plant (about $365,000). She said city projects in progress include HVAC control upgrades in multiple schools, fire-station upgrades, water-meter installations and the Springside Pond rehabilitation, which is budgeted at $675,000 and includes dredging, dam and bridge stonework repairs, an accessible trail connection and plans for a boardwalk and pavilion.
“The ARPA team is keeping very close tabs on how the projects are progressing,” Armstrong said, noting the U.S. Treasury’s rule requiring municipalities to obligate funding by year-end. She said the team is finalizing plans to increase funding toward affordable housing and infrastructure projects and expected to report additional obligations in the next quarter.
Armstrong also described ARPA-funded housing assistance, including a $500,000 allocation to the At Home in Pittsfield program, which provides exterior renovation loans for owner-occupants who lack access to traditional financing. To date, the department has received 48 applications and provided assistance to 17 homeowners, she said, leaving approximately $96,000 available in that line.
Small-business support programs were highlighted as well: a PIRC and Downtown Pittsfield Inc. partnership awarded grants to 19 businesses to recover pandemic losses, and a Mass MoCA–based artist capacity-building program received $100,000 to run two-and-a-half-year cohorts and microgrant support for local artists.
Councilors asked detailed questions about accounting lines and how obligation totals reported to the U.S. Treasury could differ from internal spreadsheets. Armstrong explained that one category had been refunded $70,000 after fewer applications than expected and that some obligations changed as projects completed below budget. She said administrative projections were reassessed and that funds initially set aside for a mental-health and substance-use initiative were reallocated after alternative sources were identified.
Councilors also asked about project-specific concerns such as potential overages on the Pontusic Lake park project; staff said that project is out to bid and any shortfall would be analyzed when bids are returned.
Armstrong urged councilors to review the city’s published Treasury quarterly reports and the online financial summary and offered to share consultant reports and invoice-backed documentation with council members upon request.
The council moved to accept the presentation and place it on file; the motion passed unanimously.
What’s next: Staff said they expect to enter updated obligations in the federal report for the third and fourth quarters of 2024 and to continue finalizing ARPA allocations so the city meets the Treasury obligation deadline.
