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Mount Angel staff outline options for roughly $800,000 in remaining ARPA funds; deadline to obligate in mid‑2024
Summary
City staff told council the remaining ARPA balance (about $800,000) can be used for pandemic response, revenue replacement, essential workers and water/sewer/broadband projects; staff recommended a public poll and reconvening infrastructure and budget committees to prioritize projects before the obligation deadline in June 2024.
City staff told the Mount Angel City Council that roughly $800,000 in remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds must be obligated by June 2024 and spent by June 30, 2026, and outlined four eligible categories for those dollars and next steps for public input and decision-making.
Tara summarized the permissible ARPA uses cited in guidance: responding to public-health emergencies or negative economic impacts; supporting essential workers; providing government services to make up for revenue loss (revenue replacement); and investing in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure. Tara said the city has spent about $8,700 on a police department heating/cooling unit and must decide how to allocate the balance.
Staff recommended public engagement — including a social-media poll and bringing results to the infrastructure task force or budget committee — to guide priorities. Several councilors said longtime task-force members and the budget committee would be useful stewards for vetting projects and returning formal recommendations to council. Council discussed using ARPA for water projects, sewer lines and broadband but staff clarified that traffic-control or signage would not be an eligible use under the infrastructure definition provided.
Separately, staff said they were preparing a county ARPA grant request for about $445,000 toward a Westmark Cemetery sewer project, which combined with a potential state earmark of roughly $500,000 could cover an estimated $950,000 project without a local share. Staff asked whether committees should present recommendations to council for final decisions; the mayor said council should make the top-level decisions once committees report.
Council asked staff to start a public poll and reconvene the infrastructure task force and budget committee to develop prioritized recommendations for council consideration before the obligation deadline.
