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Date: 9/20/2022
NORTHAMPTON – Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and the Northampton American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Commission are currently requesting proposals for the ARPA Community Recovery Projects funding opportunity.
Shortly after taking office, Sciarra set aside $4 million of ARPA funds provided to Northampton for community-led initiatives. This decision followed the recommendations of last fall’s ARPA survey conducted by former Mayor David Narkewicz.
After allocating this money, Sciarra congregated a group of 12 city residents and stakeholders, including Ward 1 City Councilor Stanley Moulton and City Council Vice President Karen Foster. According to the mayor’s office, the group has been developing the Community Recovery Projects process, creating requests for proposals, coordinating proposal submission and ultimately will help review and recommend projects for funding.
“I am incredibly grateful for the hard work of the ARPA Commission to bring us to the point where we’re ready to solicit projects,” said Sciarra. “I have been committed from day one to a community-driven process to distribute a significant portion of Northampton’s ARPA funds, and I am proud that we have set these funds aside for our community. I look forward to reviewing the proposals and helping to enable worthwhile recovery projects.”
Ultimately, the coronavirus pandemic recovery money will allow nonprofits, small businesses and other organizations and individuals in the city the opportunity to apply for grants for projects revitalizing the community and improving public health.
In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation that provided $1.9 trillion for direct financial relief to Americans, businesses, states, counties and municipalities. $21 million of that money went to Northampton. After the commission reviews the applications, awards will be announced in December, with money distributed early next year.
“After conducting eight community meetings to help inform the process of writing the proposal and to better understand the needs of the community, we spent the summer working on what we hope is a simple and straightforward proposal-seeking process,” said ARPA commission member Elena Huisman. “We plan to hold additional public meetings to help explain the process and answer questions from potential applicants.”
There are two separate applications for funding, according to the city: a small projects application for projects up to $10,000 and a large projects application for projects requesting more than $10,000 in ARPA funding.
The city will host one more informational session about the funding on Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. A Zoom link will also be available for those who cannot attend in-person. The city also hosted two other informational sessions beforehand.
Applications for funding are due no later than 5 p.m. on Oct. 14. People can learn more about the recovery project by visiting the website: https://northamptonma.gov/2365/American-Rescue-Plan-Act-ARPA-in-Northam.