American Rescue Plan Act Commission

Dear Willington Residents and Taxpayers,

The first meeting of the Willington ARPA Commission in 2024 was held on January 8, 2024.  Going forward in 2024, meetings will be held on the second Monday of every other month at 1:30PM starting on February 12, 2024.

The Willington ARPA Commission was created to oversee the spending of the Federal American Rescue Plan funds that the town received for Covid-19 relief ( a total of $1,735,454.22).  The goal of the Commission is to allocate the funds where they would be most useful in accordance with the guidelines set up by the Federal Government.   These funds need to be allocated by 12/31/24 and spent by 12/31/26.  

As of 1/8/24, the following projects have been approved and completed.  Many projects came in under budget and as a result, $160,698.67 has been returned to the ARPA Fund to be used for another purpose.  The total spent on these closed projects is $1,040,351.33.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

ARPA-3 - Second Ambulance for Willington Fire Department $96,782.82

ARPA-4 - Radios for DPW use for Department of Public Works  $28,946.02

ARPA-5 - SCBA Air Packs for Willington Hill Fire Department $115,893.43

ARPA-6 - Generator for the Department of Public Works $47,677.00

ARPA-7 - AC for HMS Band Room $11,550.00

ARPA-9 - AC Units at Senior Center $30,009.86

ARPA-11 - Town Office Building Basement Cleaning & Concrete Floor $41,785.08

ARPA-12 - Town Office Building Air Purifiers $2,260.00

ARPA-13 - Devices for town staff and Senior Center $38,174.20

ARPA-14 - Small Business and Nonprofit Assistance Program through the Economic Development Commission $237,500.00

ARPA-16 - Radios for Fire Department Use  $234,976.87

ARPA-20 - Willington Hill Fire Department Station Furnace $19,680.00

ARPA-26 - Forestry Plan for Mason Road Tract for Conservation Commission $2,800.00

ARPA-28 - Senior Center Tech Upgrade  $3,000.00

ARPA-32 - Town Employee Retention Bonuses $28,008.05

ARPA-33 - Flags, grave markers and monument repairs $6,500.00

ARPA-34 - Storage Box for Evictions $5,525.00

ARPA-35 - Bring URCommunityCares.org to Willington for Human Services Dept $5,000.00

ARPA-36 - Fire Department Employee Retention Bonuses $17,000.00

ARPA-37 - 2022 John Deere Skid Steer for Public Works $67,283.00

In addition, another $572,000 worth of projects has been approved.  These projects are at various stages of completion and most are projected to come in at or under budget:

APPROVED AND IN PROGRESS:

ARPA-10 - Town Office Building Meeting Room Equipment  $28,500.00

ARPA-39A - Repair of Library Building Structure - Retaining Wall $13,000.00

ARPA-41 - Stove For Senior Center $6,000.00

ARPA-43 - Recess Equipment for Center and Hall Schools $6,000.00

ARPA-46 - Software for Town Clerk and Economic Development Use $10,000.00

ARPA-17 & 18 - Drainage and Lighting at River Road Athletic Complex $220,000.00

ARPA-30A - Call for service at Button Hill Senior Housing $53,000.00

ARPA-31 - Historical Society Archival Storage for Willington Historical Society $15,000.00

ARPA-44 - Extended Learning Opportunities for both schools $20,000.00

ARPA-45 - Economic Development Strategic Plan Development $40,000.00

ARPA-47 - Board of Selectmen Facilities Study $50,000.00

ARPA-15 - Senior Center Staffing $34,379.00

ARPA-21 - Fuel Bank and Household Heating Expenses $35,000.00

ARPA-23 - Summer Camp Supplement $36,238.00

ARPA-27 - Materials for park structure maintenance for Conservation Commission $3,500.00

ARPA-29 - ARPA Public Hearing Expenses $2,000.00

In addition to the above, there is an additional $40,000 that has been earmarked for contingency.

In summary:

Total ARPA Funds: 1,735,454.22  

Completed projects total: $1,040,351.33

In-progress projects total: $572,617.00

Contingency fund: $40,000

TOTAL APPROPRIATION TO DATE: $1,652,968.33

Remaining funds to be spent: $82,485.89 (plus whatever is returned from the in-progress projects)

There are two projects that have been to Public Hearing and tabled. Currently there is not enough money available to do both projects.  This could change if one or more of the approved projects comes in under budget or if all of the contingency funds are not used.

ARPA-40A Library Gutters & Downspouts $21,000.00

ARPA-42 - Center School Playground Surfacing $90,000.00

The remaining funds need to be allocated by the end of this calendar year and spent by the end of 2026.

Respectfully submitted,

Christina Mailhos

ARPA Chair

Board of Finance

Effective 1/4/22

Orig. Vol: V9 P0925; pg 129 ordinance book

Charge of committee discussed at first meeting.  Terms will expire once charge has been met.