Pittsfield Approaching Last Year to Spend ARPA Funds
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The last year to spend Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act funds is approaching; nearly $30 million of the $41 million has been expended.
The city had until the end of 2024 to allocate all of the $40.6 million it received, and the funds must be spent by the end of 2026. By the end of June, $29,836,419 of the ARPA money had been spent, and 66 percent of the 84 awarded projects were completed, and several more are expected to wrap up by the third quarter.
More than $17.3 million has been spent addressing negative economic impacts, $5.8 million on infrastructure, and nearly $4.6 million on public health. The rest was spent on revenue replacement and administration, about $2 million.
The federal American Rescue Plan Act brought about $8.7 billion to Massachusetts through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
The Pontoosuc Lake Park renovation was boosted by $690,000 in ARPA funds for picnic tables and benches, to improve handicap accessibility with a new promenade and paved paths, and to restore the wetland and bank area.
That project is well underway, with a wooden boardwalk stretching across the shoreline and new stairs leading down. Water access points are planned for approximately 24 percent of the shoreline, following community members' assertion that bank plantings limited access for swimming and fishing.
Site 9 in the William Stanley Business Park received $4.5 million in ARPA funding to make it development-ready. This involved cracking and crushing 16.5 acres of concrete to remove a surface that was described as looking like the face of the moon.
Today, the site is greened over, and Mill Town Capital purchased 4.7 acres for a 26,000 square foot development. In June, the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority came up with names for roads within the site: Mill Town Way, Morningside Way, and Innovation Place.
A total of $9.3 million was awarded to 38 community organizations, and a majority of those have been completed.
The Berkshire Family YMCA was awarded $250,000 in ARPA funds toward the renovation of its childcare center. The expanded facility, completed a few years ago, includes a new infant room, an additional toddler room, an expanded preschool area, a science, technology, arts and math (STEAM) space, and a gross motor skills space.
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