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Date: 12/31/2021
SOUTH HADLEY - The South Hadley Selectboard met to discuss agenda items such as American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and distribution of allocated COVID-19 rapid tests on Dec. 21.
To begin the meeting, the Selectboard discussed the name of the new purchase of property located on Amherst Road. The Conservation Commission settled on the name Rangeview Meadow Conservation Area for this area.
According to Conservation Administrator Rebekah Cornell, the short term plan for the property is to create a conservation management plan which will include managing the meadow for migratory birds and adjusting cuts of hay accordingly to support nesting habitat.
In order for the property to be officially named, the Selectboard had to approve. They voted unanimously on the title of Rangeview Meadow Conservation Area.
The Selectboard also discussed the future of hybrid meetings. According to Chair Jeff Cyr, they hosted a trial meeting at the Senior Center on Dec. 2.
He said that the meeting went well and that the Selectboard originally decided to launch hybrid meetings in January. They are now unsure due to COVID-19 surges.
Cyr said that they will “keep an eye on things” and continue to host future meetings virtually at this time.
Town Administrator Lisa Wong then gave an update on ARPA funds. The town of South Hadley was given $5.2 million in funds. They have until 2024 to allocate the funds and until 2026 to spend them.
Wong went over the ten categories of eligible uses for ARPA funds. The first category is for COVID-19 mitigation and prevention, which includes vaccination programs, medical care, COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and more.
The second category is for behavioral health care to meet the behavioral needs exacerbated by the pandemic such as providing mental health treatment, substance misuse treatment, crisis intervention and more. The third category was for payroll and covered benefits for public health and safety staff.
Category four is to use funds to provide premium pay to eligible workers such as nursing home staff, hospital staff, food production facility workers, grocery store workers, truck drivers, childcare workers, sanitation workers and more. Category five is to provide assistance to households facing negative economic impacts due to COVID-19 which may include food assistance, rent help, mortgage help and more.
Category six pertains to small businesses and nonprofits, category seven includes housing eligible services such as affordable housing developments and category eight pertains to education. Category nine pertains to covering revenue loss and category ten includes investments in infrastructure specifically in water, sewer and broadband.
Wong said that these categories will be broken up over time, but that she wanted to give the Selectboard the big picture.
“These are just large parameters that we’re not wedded to, but I just wanted to give the board an idea that we should probably put at least a six figure number here as a placeholder even if we don’t have an immediate need,” said Wong.
Next steps will be to identify stakeholders in each priority area, conduct outreach and solicit funding proposals. After that, Wong will compile proposals into a report for public review and input. Requests will then be prioritized and a potential expenditure schedule will be set.
Selectboard member Chris Geraghty thanked Wong for her extensive research and for laying out the specific categories of use.
“I really think this is the right approach to do this, trying to look at everything as a whole put together rather than doing it piecemeal,” he said.
Wong will now bring back the public-facing document of an application proposal to the next Selectboard meeting on Jan. 4 – which took place after press time – for their approval.
To end the meeting, Wong spoke on COVID-19 rapid tests. She said that South Hadley has been given 2,880 test kits which include two tests per kit. The town was given these tests because of their poverty rate, which is 9.6 percent, according to Wong.
The Health Director is now working on getting these tests to high poverty areas and is working with the Housing Authority, homeless shelters and veterans groups to do so.
Wong noted that the School Department will not be distributing these tests since they require PCR testing. She also said that the town does not plan on doing drive-up or pick-up of tests for residents right now.
“If we do make them available to the general public we will certainly do our best to advertise that widely,” said Wong.
Those interested in viewing the South Hadley Selectboard Meeting in its entirety are encouraged to visit https://shctv15.com.