MANSFIELD — Mayor Tim Theaker on Tuesday proposed $9,070,116 in American Rescue Plan Act spending to City Council, including $3.75 million to renovate and repair the front foundation of the Municipal Building.
The proposal includes $4,124,500 in “regular” ARPA spending and $4,855,616 allowed in “revenue replacement” under the federal rules.
There are more restrictions on “regular” ARPA spending. But communities are allowed to claim up to $10 million of the funds as “revenue replacement” dollars, which can be used for any “government services.”
If approved by council on May 4, the proposal would leave the city with $5.7 million from the $20.8 million it has received under the bill approved by Congress to assist communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city received $10.4 million in ARPA funding in 2021 and another $10.4 million in 2022. Funds must be appropriated by 2024 and expended by the end of 2026.
Here is how the proposed spending breaks down under Theaker’s plan:
Regular ARPA
— $700,000 in small business assistance grants, coordinated through the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development, for local companies involved in entertainment, lodging/tourism and the food and beverage industry. Council previously approved $315,00 for this effort in January.
— $1.5 million toward a new $8 million north-end community center proposed by the North End Community Improvement Collaborative.
— $637,000 in retention bonuses for the Mansfield Police Department and another $27,500 in retention bonuses for 9-1-1 dispatchers.
— $350,000 for a rescue squad replacement vehicle for the Mansfield Fire Department.
— $1 million for improvements to the Clearfork Reservoir dam.
Revenue replacement ARPA:
— $3.75 million to renovate the Municipal Building and repair the foundation in the front of the structure.
— $600,000 for street department vehicles, including trucks used for plowing snow.
— $175,000 to renovate the police department locker room.
— $125,000 for other city vehicles.
— $100,000 for four unmarked detective vehicles for the police department.
— $94,000 toward the training building being planned at the police department shooting range.
— $9,629.92 for four computers in the IT department.
–`$1,986.54 for a computer for the city’s new risk manager.
Theaker told City Council some of the items he proposed are time sensitive.
“The very first thing that has to be done is it has to be appropriated by 2024. And it has to be purchased and in place and operating by the end of 2026. That’s why a lot of these things we have put in here as time sensitive,” the mayor said.
“There are also things (on his list) that council has already passed,” Theaker said, citing the police and dispatch retention bonuses. “So this is actually appropriating the money now to fund that. And we are getting continual questions from the police as to when they can expect that.”
The mayor said the nine-story city building has not been renovated since its construction a half-century ago and that the foundation is crumbling in places.
“If we don’t do something, I don’t want to be in the building when it collapses,” the mayor said. “That’s something that we have to start now because this is something that is definitely needed.
“If we don’t address it and fix this building up, it’s going to fall apart,” Theaker said.
He said the police locker rooms have also not been “touched” since the building was constructed, calling it a “dire” need.
“I wouldn’t even put my big toe in it. It is bad. It is really bad. It’s a health hazard,” the mayor said.
