Council tables request for parks spending
Wants to hold public hearings before deciding on ARPA spending
The Warren City Council tabled a request from Mayor Jim Fouts for $5.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to be allocated to the parks and rec department for long-term park improvements.
The city currently has $9.95 million in unallocated ARPA funds.
Council tabled the request at its Nov.16 meeting pending the scheduling of a series of town hall meetings to get resident input regarding the spending of ARPA funds and the receipt of information from Parks and Recreation Director Dino Turcato regarding past expenditures and park improvement updates.
No town hall meetings have been scheduled, but council members said they plan to do so before making any decisions on ARPA spending.
“I’m not willing at this point to spend these APRA funds without a strict plan of where these funds are going,” said Council Secretary Mindy Moore.
Turcato said as of 11 a.m. Nov. 17 he had not received a written request from the city council for the specific information it is seeking, A list of questions for Turcato
was posted on the Warren City Council Facebook page Nov. 16.
It includes: status and timetable for the new splash pad at Wiegand Park and skatepark at Eckstein Park; improvement plan for existing cricket field at Trombley Park; provide a number of options for Halmich Park renovations, with and without a cricket field; installation proposal for a new cricket field at Shaw Park; report on funding needed for repairs and upgrades to the Lions Club pavilion at Halmich Park.
The council also asked for an updated expenditure report for the $3.9 million allocated to parks and recreation in 2019 and a status report on the civic center fountain, which has not been fully functional due to rotted pipes.
Turcato said if ARPA funds are not available for use to move forward with the five-year Warren Parks and Recreation Master Plan, he will seek grant money and ask for funding from the city when he submits his fiscal year 2023 budget request. He said between $600,000-$700,000 is left from the previously allocated $3.9 million and the remainder is to finish upgrades to Wiegand and Licht parks.
“I will get the money from somewhere to make future improvements if ARPA funding is not approved,” said Turcato, who has stated multiple times he is following the Parks and Recreation Master Plan when scheduling specific upgrades.
Turcato announced during a committee of the whole council meeting last month that the issues with the fountain pipes at the Civic Center made it impossible to create an ice rink at that location. He stated his intention is to purchase a temporary rink.
In its Facebook post, Warren City Council said Turcato’s purchase was illegal because he misused the emergency purchasing ordinance.
Turcato acknowledged he did use an emergency purchase order to procure the rink due to wanting to get the rink in place for the city’s annual tree lighting ceremony Dec. 3.
Several residents spoke about the ARPA funding proposal during audience participation at the Nov. 15 council meeting, some expressing appreciation for improvements that have already been done at various parks and many from the city’s Bangladeshi community asking that council approve ARPA spending for parks and include plans for a cricket field in that budget.
During a 16-minute prepared speech to begin discussion of the proposed ARPA item, Councilman Jonathan Laffery stated approval of the item did not guarantee the addition of a cricket field.
“You were misled to believe the passage of this item would put shovels in the ground tomorrow to build a cricket field,” said Lafferty. “That is not the intent of this item; this action does not allocate funds to a particular project but establishes a base of funding to be used to develop projects via a (request for proposal) committee.”
Lafferty co-sponsored a Nov, 9, 2021, resolution supporting the addition of cricket fields at Halmich Park and exploration of other areas in the city where another field could be added.
Turcato said he has developed plans to add a field at Halmich and Shaw parks and that the cost to add a cricket field is $1.1 million.
“It doesn’t matter if the cricket field is added at Halmich Park or Shaw Park or at any other location in the city; the cost would be $1.1 million,” said Turcato.
After the council voted 4-3 to table the ARPA proposal, several members of the Bangladeshi community stood up and shouted at the city council that it was racist. During his speech, Lafferty said those suggesting racism or prejudice has any impact on the decision to build a cricket field were “ignorant.”
One audience member carried a sign saying: “We belong at Halmich too.”
“If we can have volleyball, pickleball, baseball and soccer we certainly can include cricket, too,” said resident Mummi Rahman. “All children should have a space where they can grow; the Bangladeshi community is here to stay so let’s send a message that our city is adjusting to its changing demographics.”
Councilpersons Angela Rogensues, Ron Papandrea and Eddie Kabacinski voted not to table the item.