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02/15/2022 03:18 PMOn Feb. 8, 11 members of the newly formed Chester ARPA Committee met for the first time via Zoom to begin the important task of devising a plan for the spending of nearly $1.3 million the town was granted by the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA).
When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted stay-at-home orders, non-essential business shutdowns, and financial turmoil worldwide in 2020, the financial fallout did not hit just businesses. States, cities, and towns across the nation lost tax revenue while also assuming extra costs to deal with the pandemic.
Rescue money for states and municipalities came in the form of the ARPA relief bill, which was signed into law in early 2021.
To maintain full transparency regarding the spending of the ARPA money Chester was granted, the Chester Board of Selectman (BOS) created the Chester ARPA Committee.
According to ARPA Committee Chair Bill Bernhart, one of the first tasks First Selectwoman Charlene Janecek completed upon stepping into the office was to establish the ARPA Committee to develop a process by which the funds should be allocated to the most-needed programs.
“The town received [some] ARPA funding in the first round, of which $80,000 has been allocated,” Bernhart stated for the Courier. “The BOS under the previous selectwoman identified some projects and they tried to put them through a town meeting in December [of 2021] and the Board of Finance (BOF) objected to the process. They wanted the community to be more involved.”
The amount of ARPA money Chester was allocated ($1,246,840) was based upon the residential population, according to Bernhart. The U.S. Census of the year 2020 placed Chester’s population at 3,749.
During the Feb. 8 kick-off meeting, the committee discussed the seven spending proposals that were first presented at the Dec. 15, 2021, town meeting.
At that time, “Two of the proposals were passed and five were tabled for future action,” Bernhart said.
At future ARPA Committee meetings, which will be held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m., committee members will discuss the tabled proposals and also welcome input from the town’s people regarding new ideas for allocation of the ARPA funds.
Bernhart noted that specific U.S. Department of Treasury rules must be followed when disbursing the funds and that the ARPA Committee is responsible for developing proposals to spend the total amount of funding that are consistent with those rules while best serving the needs of the town.
Within the constraints of the spending guidelines, the committee will establish the process for soliciting, qualifying, and developing proposals, as well as communicating ARPA topics and plan status to the community via the town website and email notifications.
To sign up for Chester town email notifications, send a subscription request and email address to info@chesterct.org.
“In doing some research, we found a lot of towns are taking some form of a committee approach, and we are looking at what other towns are doing for precedent and process,” Bernhart said.
“We are trying to build the tools and processes we need to facilitate the review of proposals for spending the ARPA funding,” Bernhart said. “The committee will help put together and process the proposals. Some of the spending proposals are old, some are new, and some are not yet defined.
“The committee’s job,” Bernhart added, “is to develop the [spending] proposals and present them to the BOF, who in turn will pass on the proposals they approve to the BOS. The BOS will then determine which proposals will go to a town meeting for a public vote.”
The current members of the Chester ARPA Committee include a person from the BOS, BOF members, and representatives of the community. The following individuals have agreed to serve: Chair Bill Bernhart (BOF), Charlene Janecek (BOS), Steve Cline (BOF), Mike Jordan (BOF), Andrew Gardner (BOF), Michael Cressman, Kimberley Megrath, Kris Pollack, Jon Joslow or another designate (Economic Development Commission), Allison Abramson (Tri-Town Youth Services Bureau, Inc.), and Susan Wright.
Others will be added to the ARPA Committee as needed to address areas of concern, according to an official statement made on the town’s website.
“The public is really involved in helping the committee,” Bernhart stated. “The BOS and the BOF see the legitimate need for the spending of the ARPA [funds].”
Bernhart stated that he expects a phased approach, whereby timely needs would be handled first. One such need is a technology upgrade for the Chester Town Hall and Meeting House, to enable hybrid meetings.
“Charlene [Janecek] would like to target some of the COVID funding for upgrades to I.T. technology,” Bernhart said, especially in regard to the handling of remote technology for enhancing online/remote meetings.
“It’s a complicated process,” Bernhart said, adding, the committee would like to see the ARPA money allocated to programs and projects to “benefit the whole town that would otherwise not be possible.”
For more information, visit chesterct.org/arpa-committee.