Mayor announces $23M allocation of ARPA funds

Mayor Fuller recently announced the allocation of $23 million of the total of $63 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that Newton received in 2021. ARPA, signed into law in March 2021, granted funds to states and municipalities to respond to the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Newton previously had allocated $34 million of its $63 million, leaving $6 million held in reserves after this recent allocation. This latest $23 million allocation includes:

Supporting the FY2024 and FY2025 Operating Budget

• $2 million for revenue recovery for FY24
• $1 million for revenue recovery for FY25

Education/Schools

• $2 million for new K-5 reading curriculum materials
• $100,000 for consulting fees Ward and Underwood elementary schools facility projects

Housing and Human Services

• $3.5 million for affordable housing and energy/retrofits
• $500,000 in accessibility improvements

Economic Recovery/Village Centers

• $3 million for enhancements to Washington Street
• $750,000 for the final design of Newton Highlands Village Center

Parks, Recreation, and Culture

• $2.5 million for improvements to Parks and Recreation facilities
• $1.8 million for renovating Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School/Community Auditorium
• $200,000 for Historic Newton exhibits

Infrastructure – Roads and Traffic Calming

• $4 million for the Accelerated Road Repair Program
• $2 million for traffic calming measures

Communities have taken various approaches for reviewing requests for ARPA funding, with a variety of responsible parties and procedures.

• Brookline lists proposal submissions and grants awarded as well as award criteria and scoring by its review committee and staff.
• Somerville created a Mayor’s Advisory Committee to create a statement of community values and a set of funding priorities for ARPA projects.
• In Newton, Mayor Fuller has held three listening sessions with the City Councilors — on June 28, 2021, June 29, 2021, and June 30, 2021 — and two community sessions on July 8, 2021, and February 16, 2022. Reviewing these sessions provides a unique view into the wide variety of potential opportunities to apply these funds in our community. The updated ARPA page on the City’s website notes that: “Through community meetings and listening sessions, open office hours, calls, emails and letters, our City Councilors, School Committee members, community groups, residents and business owners have weighed in to help guide our investments.”