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Select Board allocates $120,848.84 in remaining ARPA to fix DPW truck and capital outlay
Summary
Town administrators reported $120,848.84 in remaining ARPA funds and the Select Board voted to obligate $70,000 to repair a DPW Freightliner and to allocate $50,848.84 to capital outlay priorities; board members discussed obligation timing and ARPA encumbrance rules.
Town officials told the Select Board that $120,848.84 remains in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that must be allocated before year-end. After discussion of timing and encumbrance requirements, the board unanimously authorized spending $70,000 of ARPA on an emergency repair for a DPW Freightliner truck with catastrophic engine failure and allocated the remaining $50,848.84 to capital outlay projects.
Liz (Town Administrator) and Greg Roundsville explained the ARPA balance and staff's recommendation: the funds can be used for "any governmental purpose," but ARPA guidance requires that funds be obligated (for example, an order placed or a contract executed) by the allocation deadline. Jose Cardinal clarified that to obligate ARPA funds there must be an order, service engagement or contract in place before the deadline; for goods that take time to build (an ambulance-style example was discussed), ordering now satisfies the obligation requirement even if payment stretches into later years.
The board voted to apply $70,000 to the DPW Freightliner repair so the truck can return to service for spring beach operations. The remaining $50,848.84 will be applied to capital outlay priorities; staff said they will work with the capital committee to identify specific items that can be obligated quickly so that the ARPA obligations satisfy federal timing rules.
Select Board members discussed procedural limits (the capital committee does not have spending authority) and the need for the Select Board to approve specific expenditures once staff identifies suitable capital items. The administration said staff and capital committee leadership would present obligatable items and return to the board as necessary.
The ARPA allocation does not create a permanent reprogramming of funds; it commits the remaining ARPA balance to capital-related purposes and the urgent truck repair, subject to the obligation and procurement steps required under ARPA rules.
