City says it can buy land with ARPA funds but full service garage build will be multi-year

Finance staff briefed council that the immediate decision before the body is a land purchase, not construction. The county-allocated ARPA $1 million is in the city’s account and is earmarked for purchasing land for a service center, staff said; using that money for acquisition meets the grant terms so long as funds are used for the intended service center purpose.

Jennifer (Pei/Faye) — finance director — said the city does not have the current fiscal capacity to build the full garage within a year and that construction and outfitting are likely to be multi-year and phased. "We are looking at multi years of the service garage being built," the finance director said, and staff identified an initial, modest interior-improvement step (locker rooms and showers) estimated at about $300,000 as a near-term feasible action while larger site development funding is sought.

Council pressed whether the purchase would meet ARPA rules and whether the grant is time-limited; the administration said the $1 million is allocated and in the city account and that staff had sought county approval for the intended use. Council asked for more detailed job-creation estimates; administration responded the project preserves about 25 service department jobs and could enable future hires once facilities are available.

What’s next: staff will continue to refine financing scenarios (grants, debt capacity) and share further details with council while the extended contingency allows time for additional due diligence and possible alternate-site evaluation.