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09/22/2021 08:15 AMTo get feedback on how the town should spend the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Westbrook will hold a pubic meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall. The meeting will be in hybrid format to accommodate those who don’t want to attend in person.
To aid the with the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, municipalities are receiving money from ARPA. According to First Selectman Noel Bishop, Westbrook will receive about $2 million.
The town now has to decide on what kinds of projects to spend the money and town leaders want public input to help with that decision.
“We want the public to come and we want to hear their ideas,” said Bishop.
Over the last several months, Bishop said that he has met with the department heads and the chairs of town commissions to gauge their ideas. Now, it’s the public’s turn to weigh in.
“It’s very important we get as much public feedback as possible,” said Bishop. “We want to make sure everyone has the right to comment.”
After the meeting, the BOS will digest the public feedback and prioritize what projects are most important. A final project selection will be made at the end of October.
Bishop said that the school system received its own recovery money for school-related projects. As such, this ARPA money will be spent on non-school related projects. Bishop said that several ideas have been tossed around by the department heads and commission chairs, but two stood out.
“The development of business around the town center is of high priority,” said Bishop.
Due to a lack of an adequate septic system in the area, development in the downtown has been a tricky issue to solve. Using the funds to help correct the septic problem would go along way to developing the downtown, according to Bishop.
“No question it’s the top of the list,” said Bishop
Another area that Bishop said the town is strongly considering is on projects related to the social services. Bishop said those services have been hit hard by the pandemic and could use help.
“I think that area would also emerge to the top of the list,” said Bishop.