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Date: 8/17/2021
SPRINGFIELD – After announcing the city is buying three buildings downtown with federal COVID-19 relief funds, Mayor Domenic Sarno is now seeking development suggestions from the neighborhood councils in the city.
He has also created two new jobs at City Hall to address how the money is administered. The city has $93.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
Sarno released a letter on Aug. 13 he has sent to the councils. It reads in part: “First of all, good health to you and your families. As my administration did with tornado recovery and rebirth, we will do again with COVID-19 recovery and rebirth. I have already started meeting through listening sessions with community and business groups pertaining to their ideas, needs, and wants with the federal ARPA funds. My administration will continue these listening sessions as we are now creating RFPs [requests for proposal] for these seven categories: job creation/economic development, capital projects, assistance for businesses, non-profits, seniors, our neighborhoods, and housing.
“In turn, I would like to continue to meet with your neighborhood council on your thoughts, ideas, needs, and wants. Please, we can do in-person and/or via Zoom, whatever you feel most comfortable with,” the mayor concluded.
Sarno also announced he has created a new position to assist with the ARPA effort. He has chosen Attorney Tom Moore as the head of the newly created Department of Recovery and Business Continuity.
Sarno said, “Tom has been my very versatile – ‘catch all’ dedicated and professional public servant. He’s very diligent and I know he will do a tremendous job.”
Moore’s charge is “to maximize reimbursement from all funding sources, strategically implement the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and maintain compliance with all tenets of the law.”
In addition to Moore, the mayor also hired Patrice “Chae” Swan to the new post of director of the Department of Technical Assistance and Compliance (DTAC). Swan previously served as senior project manager in the city’s Office of Management and Budget.
DTAC works directly with the Department of Recovery and Business Continuity and is, according to information supplied by the Sarno Administration, “responsible for implementing and ensuring the integrity of diverse and small business programs that promote and grow the certification and participation of minority, women, veteran, and LGBTQ owned businesses and small businesses in the city of Springfield.”