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West Haven council hears ARPA projects update; officials flag Sept. 15 ordering deadline
Summary
ARPA committee representative Ken Carney presented a status report of projects funded with federal ARPA dollars, citing completed playgrounds, infrastructure repairs, firehouse bunks and animal shelter procurement. Officials emphasized a practical September 15 ordering deadline for paving-related work and a Dec. 31 federal spending cutoff.
Ken Carney, who presented the council with the ARPA tracker booklet on June 8, outlined the program's invoice-review process and highlighted completed or in-progress projects funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
"ARPA collects all the invoices," Carney said, describing how invoices are compared to contracts or inspected on site and then approved in a public meeting so every payment is traceable on camera. Carney pointed to dozens of projects: playground and playscape work, a Haley ramp, restored covered basins to reduce flooding, artificial turf at schools, firehouse bunk upgrades and new vehicles, life-saving equipment for first responders, surveillance cameras along the shore, and a vac truck used for stormwater maintenance.
During council questions Carney and other staff explained two important budget-management deadlines. Carney said the federal rule requires checks to be cut by Dec. 31, 2026, but the practical constraint on some work — notably paving — means the city must have orders placed materially earlier so that paving plants will accept orders. "We have an September 15 deadline to make sure that the feds do not claw back any of these funds," he said, explaining that plant closures and seasonal operations make late-December paving impractical.
Carney told the council the current "paving" catchall bucket held approximately $482,000; staff are moving money between projects and the paving bucket as needed and performing risk assessments on projects unlikely to meet the federal deadlines. He cited the library acquisition as the most uncertain item pending a property decision and said some projects already have purchase orders in place though invoices are still pending. He also reported bids for the animal-shelter addition and said Milestone Construction was the low bidder with a scope-review milestone scheduled.
Mayor Durinda Borer and committee members stressed transparency: invoices approved by the ARPA committee are publicly recorded and the ARPA process includes federal consultants and audits. Council members pressed for clarity on purchase-order numbering and what would move into the paving bucket; staff explained contingency processes and the sequence of procurement and contracting that typically prevents creating new multi‑month projects late in the grant period.
What this means: West Haven is midstream on dozens of ARPA-funded local projects. The council and ARPA committee emphasized monitoring low‑spend line items, completing projects that have already begun, and using the paving bucket where necessary to avoid returning funds to the federal government.
