Pittsfield to Use ARPA Funds for Affordable Housing Initiatives
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city’s next steps with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will address deficiencies in affordable housing.
The first round of award proposals announced last fall included funding for the future emergency homeless shelter located at the First United Methodist Church on Fenn Street and Mayor Linda Tyer reported that there are additional housing initiatives underway.
One area of opportunity for affordable housing is a structure at the corner of White Terrace and North Street that suffered a three-alarm blaze in September.
"We are eager to begin receiving and reviewing the proposals from our community partners, in addition, we will turn our attention to advancing housing projects beyond those mentioned here this evening, for example, we will explore supporting the development of 40 units of affordable housing at White Terrace and we will undertake a study on establishing an affordable housing trust fund," Tyer said to the City Council last week during an update on ARPA activities.
"We will continue to be actively engaged with our community partner Berkshire Housing Development Corp. Together we have identified that our first priority is providing more housing options for those who have experienced chronic housing insecurity. To serve this need, Berkshire Housing Development Corp. is investigating opportunities to develop efficiency apartments with support services either through acquisition, conversion, and redevelopment of vacant buildings, vacant existing structures, or new construction."
Since the start of the pandemic, homelessness and housing insecurity has surged in Pittsfield. Throughout a series of public input sessions on the ARPA spending, residents identified affordable housing as a need on more than one occasion.
In January, Tyer announced the release of ARPA applications for eligible programs, services, and capital investments that will be accepted on a rolling basis starting Feb. 28.
The city is receiving almost $41 million of the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill in two disbursements, one that occurred in May of last year and another that is expected in May of this year.
Through community feedback and and the ARPA advisory council, a guiding principle was established for the funds. It states that when invested in people and places through shared community engagement, the American Rescue Plan provides a once in a lifetime infusion of funds that can transform Pittsfield into a city of social and economic resiliency for everyone, where people are able to live up to their greatest potential, achieve prosperity, and experience health wellbeing and joy.
This especially applies to people who have been underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by racial inequity and generational poverty.
At the end of January, Finance Director Matthew Kerwood submitted the required Federal Treasury compliance report for March 2021 through December 2021. Some $22,736.24 was submitted for Crosby Elementary School ventilation improvements, $14,350 for administration including upgrades to the city's accounting software to improve ARPA financial management, and $36,244.56 in salaries for the special project managers.
Tyer also reported that a new provision in the final rule from the U.S. Department of Treasury allows municipalities to use a standard allowance of up to $10 million for revenue loss. This is an alternative to the previous revenue loss calculation formula that was laid out by the treasury.
Pittsfield has selected the standard allowance because the amount claimed under revenue loss can be used for general government services.
"This change provides significant flexibility for municipalities," Tyer said.
"General government services include any service traditionally provided by the government, the final rule lists some common examples of general government services including construction and renovation of schools road construction, repair and maintenance, other infrastructure projects, health services, general government administration, staff, and administrative facilities environmental remediation, and the provision of police fire and other public safety services including the purchase of fire and police vehicles."
Tyer urged residents to visit the ARPA page on the city's website for more information.
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