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Date: 2/28/2023
NORTHAMPTON — After months of listening sessions, a large group of small businesses, nonprofits and other community organizations were awarded American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to help recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The grant money, totaling $4 million, was awarded to 61 projects throughout Northampton, announced Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra during a City Council meeting on Feb. 16.
Background
In 2021, the city conducted an ARPA Community Input Survey to gain insight about the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in Northampton and to hear about the needs of the community. This survey provided Northampton residents and business owners an opportunity to share some of the emotional, health, and economic impacts they experienced during the early days of COVID-19 and priorities for recovery.
During a meeting on Dec. 2, 2021, the Northampton City Council unanimously moved to accept $21.7 million in ARPA funds that must be committed by Dec. 31, 2024, and fully expended by Dec. 31, 2026.
In March 2021, President Joseph Biden signed ARPA into law, which is a “far-reaching COVID[-19] recovery measure” that provides direct financial relief to Americans, assistance to businesses, and aid to states, counties and municipalities.
In June 2022, Abbie Stone – Northampton’s COVID-19 economy recovery grants administrator – said that the city is allocating the money to four different categories, the largest being government services, with $10 million.
She then said that the next biggest chunk of money would be allocated to infrastructure such as water, sewer or broadband, followed by the recently awarded $4 million for community recovery.
Sciarra appointed an advisory committee composed of community experts and city councilors to create a process for applications and to make recommendations on the grant awards, based on the goals and keeping in mind the greatest needs of the community.
This advisory committee conducted eight community listening sessions at locations across Northampton and Florence, and remotely to solicit input from the community about how to structure the awards process and to further evaluate community priorities.
According to Sciarra, almost 100 submissions were received and the total requested amount of funds was just over $20 million.
The $4 million
During the Feb. 16 City Council meeting, Sciarra explained that the $4 million awarded made up 18.4 percent of what the city received in ARPA money, making it “one of the most significant investments in community projects in this region.”
“I am happy to announce the awards that will fund these important projects, and I look forward to seeing these funds put to work helping our community continue to recover over the next three years,” said Sciarra, in a statement. “Thank you to everyone who applied and who demonstrated their dedication to Northampton. It was truly a pleasure to read all of the creative and inspiring ideas that applicants had for these funds.”
Some of the grant recipients include the Northampton Survival Center, Community Action Pioneer Valley, Transhealth, The Literacy Project and many more.
The Survival Center, which specializes in providing nutritious food and other resources to low-income individuals, received $450,000 to maintain their expanded services borne out of COVID-19.
Community Action, meanwhile, is also receiving $450,000 to support the development of the city’s forthcoming Resilience Hub, which aims to be a downtown facility with a coordinated program for frontline communities and any residents who face chronic and acute stress due to disasters, pandemics, climate change and other social and economic challenges.
Other projects include $80,000 for the creation of an outdoor performance stage on the Forbes Library lawn, $100,000 for ventilation improvements at the International Language Institute, and a little over $50,000 to support additional programming at the Academy of Music.
A full list of awardees is here: https://www.northamptonma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21499/ARPA-Awards.
“I am deeply grateful to the dedicated and skilled community members who advised me at every stage of this process,” Sciarra said. “I am truly proud of these grant awards for community recovery and confident that the mix of projects selected will serve Northampton well using these one-time resources.”