City increases nonprofit relief funding

FAYETTEVILLE — The City Council on Tuesday put $1 million more toward pandemic relief for nonprofits.

Council members voted 8- 0 on the proposal from Teresa Turk. It will enable nonprofits to apply for reimbursement for pandemic-related financial losses incurred from March 3, 2020, to March 2, 2021. A similar proposal the council approved last year enabled nonprofits to seek reimbursement for losses incurred from March 2021 to March 2022. That program closed in April.

Turk included a few conditions in her proposal. Applications will be accepted starting Monday until 5 p.m. March 10. Additionally, each nonprofit can receive a maximum of $100,000. Only one application will be allowed per nonprofit, and all required documents must be submitted with the application. Money will be distributed on a first-come, firstserved basis.

Organizations that applied for the previous reimbursement program will be able to apply for the new one. Organizations that applied to receive money under the city’s separate subrecipient program also can apply to receive reimbursement money under the new program.

The subrecipient program is different because organizations received money in exchange for providing a service to residents. The reimbursement program simply helps organizations recover financial losses.

The city received a total of $17.9 million in federal American Rescue Plan money. Following Tuesday’s vote, the city will have about $1.7 million left.

About $5.1 million of the $17.9 million total has gone toward the city’s own revenue loss reimbursement. Other significant investments have included $2 million for a cityrun child care assistance program; $1.8 million in employee appreciation pay; $1.4 million

to the Watershed Conservation Resource Center for floodplain conservation; and $1.2 million for a workforce training program at the Fayetteville Public Library.

The City Council approved all of the eligible applications it received under last year’s reimbursement program, a total of $582,013 to 11 organizations. Steven Dotson, the city’s internal auditor, said at the time federal rules dictated losses would only be covered for March 2021 to March 2022. The rules have since changed, he said.

Council member Scott Berna said the need is unquestionable but he had some pause with opening a new application window when the city still has outstanding subrecipient applications. Chief of Staff Susan Norton pointed out the subrecipient and reimbursement programs are different, and any of those waiting organizations can apply for money under the new program.

Council member Mike Wiederkehr said he wants to propose a program to expand urban farms with the remaining Rescue Plan money, but use of the money isn’t a competition.

“I’m so proud with what Fayetteville has done with the ARPA funding we’ve received,” he said. “This fits right in line with investing in the community in an appropriate manner.”

In other business, the council decided to hold a retreat to discuss housing and other city issues. The council most recently held a two-day retreat in 2017 at Pratt Place Inn and Barn. The only current council member who attended that retreat was Sarah Bunch.

Mayor Lioneld Jordan suggested the idea after council member Sarah Moore introduced a proposal for the council to study and possibly amend the city’s 2040 plan. Moore brought up issues related to housing, particularly the short-term goals included in the 2040 plan, such as establishing a housing trust fund and creating housing on publicly owned land.

Additionally, the council held until April 18 discussion of a graffiti abatement program sponsored by Turk. City Attorney Kit Williams said he had concerns with some of the proposed language regarding the city’s ability to enter private property, spending taxpayer money on abating graffiti and conditions surrounding “hate speech.”