Norwich sets hearing on spending final ARPA grant money

Decisions need to be made on uses for $2.1 million

— Residents will Norwich get a chance Thursday to comment on City Manager John Salomone’s proposed uses for the final $2.1 million in the city’s federal American Rescue Plan Act grant.

Salomone presented his proposed spending package to the City Council last week, including $466,908 recaptured from previous ARPA projects that were completed for less than budgeted, canceled or altered.

Salomone proposed the biggest allocation, $1 million to help balance the upcoming 2023-24 city budget under the ARPA category “Revenue Replacement.” He also proposed $781,719 to replace a 2001 pumper firetruck for the city’s paid fire department.

At the council’s request, Salomone scheduled a public forum to hear from residents on the ARPA spending plan for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Rose City Senior Center. The council is scheduled to vote on Salomone’s requests at its Feb. 21 meeting.

Salomone received requests totaling $1.4 million from city agencies and local nonprofits for the final round of the city’s total $28.8 million in ARPA funding. But he allocated just $366,000 toward those requests, mostly for one-time expenses or capital projects. The largest recommended allocation is $150,000 to replace firearms for the Norwich Police Department which is transitioning to new 9mm handguns with optical sights.

He recommended providing $80,000 to the St. Vincent de Paul Place soup kitchen to remodel bathrooms and showers at the facility in the former St. Joseph School on Cliff Street. St. Vincent had requested $250,000 for the project.

The Katie Blair House, a transitional housing facility for women across from St. Vincent would receive $38,000 to replace windows and pay for program supplies. The facility is owned by Safe Futures.

Other new requests to be funded include $50,000 to replace the wrought iron fence at the city’s Little Plain Green, $30,000 for senior center transportation and $18,000 to Otis Library to replace the self-checkout system.

A previously funded city project to build a splash pad will not go forward, Salomone said. He took the $150,000 originally allocated to the project and recommended it be used to reconstruct the rutted dirt parking lot adjacent to the newly restored Armstrong Tennis Courts.

Salomone took back almost half of an original $840,000 grant to Habitat for Humanity dedicated to rehabilitating blighted, foreclosed or abandoned houses in the city. The program has been unable to identify properties that meet Habitat’s specific needs thus far. Salomone said he still supports the program and left the organization with $440,000 of the original grant, taking back $400,000.