City Council approves plan for remaining federal ARPA funding

Spartanburg City Council unanimously approved a plan on Monday to allocate the City's remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. In his presentation to Council, City Manager Chris Story said that around $9.8 million had already been approved for allocation previously, leaving $7.25 million of the original $17.1 million in funding remaining.

Among the items previously approved were:

• $1.5 million for the Hello Family early childhood and family support program
• $2.85 million to renovate the new City Fire Department headquarters at 440 Wofford St.
• $1.5 million in police technology upgrades
• $2.5 million for affordable housing development
• $600,000 for an owner-occupied home rehab program
• $500,000 for improvements to Duncan Park
• $350,000 to develop a new City zoning ordinance

Under the approved plan, the remaining sum will cover:

• An additional $2.5 million for affordable housing development
• $1 million for implementation of the Highland Transformation Plan
• $1 million for park improvements
• $1 million for neighborhood enhancements
• $500,000 for workforce development to assist homeless individuals and ex-offenders in developing sustainable careers
• $750,000 to implement a comprehensive strategy to address homelessness
• $250,000 for planning improvements for the city's downtown corridors
• $250,000 for the countywide Power Up small and minority-owned business program

While the plan approved by Council now gives staff the needed roadmap to begin utilizing ARPA funding for the specified purposes, many individual programs and projects using the funds will ultimately come before City Council for approval as well. To view the full list of approved recommendations, follow this link.

For more from Monday's City Council meeting, see the full video at this link.