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Date: 5/4/2022
SPRINGFIELD – As communities continue to dispense American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Mayor Domenic Sarno announced the city’s fourth round of ARPA recipients on April 7 at the New North Citizens Council.
Created in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, federal ARPA funds serve as a source of relief for communities recovering from COVID-19’s impacts. The funds support businesses, nonprofits and other community projects, with the city’s ARPA Committee reviewing Request for Proposal (RFP) applications for approval. So far, Springfield announced its first round of ARPA recipients in December 2021 while also showcasing additional rounds of approval in February and March, respectively.
Among the RFP applications, Springfield approved two new businesses and 12 small business. Each operation identifies as minority/women owned or is present within a Qualified Census Tracts (QCT) area, which represents areas that possess 50 percent or more households with a poverty rate of 25 percent or more.
The new business recipients include $50,000 for the Asian-owned enterprise Jackalope. For preexisting businesses, several of the RFPs support local restaurants, such as $75,000 for the SouLao’d Kitchen, $100,000 for Petra Café, $75,000 for Timoteo’s Grill and $75,000 for Russ’s Restaurant. Nonprofits also received support from the fourth ARPA round, including $1.6 million for Revival Time Evangelist Center /JC Williams Community Center and $1.5 million for the Springfield Boys and Girls Club.
In a press release, Sarno highlighted the city’s efforts in outreach with 30 neighborhood councils to dictate his administration’s goals.
“My dedicated city team has reviewed their input and based upon the needs of our community. My administration continues to appropriately allocate our local ARPA monies where they are most needed to help our residents, businesses and neighborhoods recover from the COVID-19 pandemic with an emphasis on capturing and sustaining future economic development opportunities,” said Sarno.
With the fourth round of ARPA recipients, Sarno stressed growing and maintaining jobs remain critical tenants of supporting the city’s economic development. “It’s about saving jobs, creating new jobs and growing our small businesses which are vital and so important for the economic health of our city,” said Sarno.
The fourth ARPA round also includes awardees as a part of Springfield’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program. Recipients include $2,500,000 for the construction of a New North Citizens Council community center in the Memorial Square Neighborhood and $1 million to Big Y for the support of a new supermarket in downtown Springfield.
ARPA Advisory Committee member and City Council President Marcus Williams expressed support for the fourth round and its abilities to address food insecurity throughout the city. “I am especially pleased to see that the administration will be utilizing our local ARPA funding to invest in our neighborhoods and address the food desert and food insecurity challenges in our downtown neighborhood,” said Williams in a press release.