VIENNA — The Vienna City Council has solicited the assistance and expertise of Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) with spending the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money Vienna will receive.

MRPC’s Project Development Manager, Kelly Sink, was at the city council’s September meeting to discuss the process they will go through over the next two years or more spending the ARPA money. Vienna will receive ARPA funds totaling $110,000. And, while council members say it is not a large amount of money, it is nice to have the extra money. But, there are strings and regulations attached and that is why Sink was at the meeting to discuss these requirements with the council members. 

Sink said she is meeting with other counties and cities within the region to help with this process. She said they need to find out what types of projects the counties and cities are interested in. MRPC will offer guidance along the way. 

The CARES Act money the county received and the city may have requested and received money from was for the response to COVID-19. The ARPA money is about recovering from the pandemic and moving on. 

Sink gave the council members a copy of the ARPA Investment Proposal. She asked the council members to write down potential projects and to complete the subsections. This will help MRPC staff who are working on this for the city.

In section one of the investment proposal, it outlines ARPA eligible activities. This includes five subsections. The first is support public health expenditures. This is using the money to fund COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff. Sink said an example is workers with constant contact with the public which required expenses for personal protective equipment (PPE), modifications to a working area, etc. 

Subsection two addresses negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency. This can include economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and public health sector. Sink said this one seems to be the least attractive to counties and cities because there are other financial resources out there available for these types of needs. South Ward Alderwoman Brenda Davis asked if this allows rebates to citizens and Sink said for example the city could make funds available to help households in need to pay bills, but the money can’t be given by the city to utility companies. She said rebates can be given but they will have to figure out “how it would look.” She asked Davis to put this on the proposal form if there is interest in it and “we can talk about it.”

Subsection three is replace lost public sector revenue. The funding can be used to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic. Sink asked if the city lost money because of the pandemic. If Vienna did lose money, the amount of the revenue lost can be taken off the top of the city’s ARPA money. Sink said only one of the region’s counties showed a loss and the cities didn’t either. Vienna will need to compare 2020 financials to 2019 financials to determine if there was a loss. If the city did have a loss, the ARPA money is taken from the top. It will be unencumbered funds. 

The fourth subsection is provide premium pay for essential workers. This is offering additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors. Sink said the definition of an essential worker is left to the local government to define. They can give these workers premium pay up to $25,000. She said Phelps County is considering this for Phelps-Maries County Health Department employees. This is the only one she has heard of considering using the money in this way.

The fifth subsection is the one most of the cities are interested in. It is investment in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. Mayor Tyler “TC” James asked about restrictions to spending. Sink said they will tie-in the expenditures to those 66 line items listed, which include separate items dealing with the categories of public health, negative economic impacts, services to disproportionately impacted communities, premium pay, infrastructure, revenue placement, and administrative. 

Mayor James said he spoke to Vienna Utilities Superintendent Shon Westart about potential water and sewer projects. Westart mentioned needing to drain and clean the city water tower. Also, Westart said for several years they’ve been interested in doing a connection with the county rural water district. This would allow the two to help the other out when needed with “the flip of a switch,” he said. These deal with water storage and distribution. Sink said projects need to be bid out appropriately. The federal guidelines are more stringent that local ones. They want three bids. She said the federal guidelines are comparable to grant requirements and are tied to federal procurement guidelines. If the project’s cost is above $70,000 they may have to use the state prevailing wage guidelines. Sink said if the city purchases materials to make sure it meets federal guidelines. She suggested asking Westart to come up with a ballpark cost estimate on these two potential projects. It would be good if the city can use this money to get two or three projects done. 

The city council members have time to consider how to spend the $110,000 as the money has to be obligated (chosen projects) by Dec. 31, 2024. And, at the end of 2026, the construction and other projects need to be finished. “There’s time to figure it out,” she told the council members. 

Mayor James asked about the timeline and if they should wait until the city gets the money. The city has turned in the necessary paperwork to the state. Sink said some cities already have received the money, but many have not. The state is doing about 100 cities a week and sooner or later Vienna will receive its money. Sink suggested they check all of the city’s accounts for it. If they see a $55,000 deposit, it’s probably the city’s ARPA money. “We don’t get a lot of those,” the Mayor said about a large deposit such as that. Sink said the application Vienna made with the state tells the state Vienna wants the money. 

This year Vienna is expected to receive $55,000, half of the money. Next year the city will get the remaining half. It will be a direct deposit and the city should not have to do anything to get it. Some cities have decided they are not going to do anything with the money until they get all of it. She said this is up to the city council as long as the money is obligated by the end of 2024. They will have to report to the Federal Treasury once a year, which will be at the end of September, even if Vienna has not spent any of the money. Once they have determined what the money will be spent on, they will need to set up a document to keep track of how every last penny is spent. Bank statements and good records are necessary. 

Mayor James asked if the ARPA money should have its own separate fund. It doesn’t have to be as the money could be put in the general revenue fund and coded separately, or it can be placed in a separate account. MRPC will be in contact with the city at least once a month. She said MRPC will track the money as it comes through. “Up front work pays off,” Sink said. “We will talk to you throughout the process.”

The ARPA Investment Proposal Sink asked the council members to fill out will be a place where they can put their thoughts on paper. To further help the process, MRPC has contracted with a Missouri Association of Counties (MAC) attorney, Travis Elliott. He will be the regional go-to guy to ask for a legal opinion if needed. Sink said there will be help for them along the way.

MRPC should be set up to do reporting by the end of October. Then, “We will be rolling up our sleeves and help you out.”

Mayor James said it sounds as though the council members need to do some brainstorming, get prices, and have some discussions. 

“It’s overwhelming for us and nice to have you with your finger on the pulse,” the mayor told Sink.

Davis asked about if there are counties and cities interested in broadband expansion. Davis said there is interest. Phelps County is interested and there are one or two providers that received funds to extend into some parts to get more done. It is in the discussion phase with providers now. Dent County has expressed interest as well. 

Davis said it became clear when COVID-19 hit that rural America is not well equipped for distance learning as only about half of the students could do it. Mayor James said it would be hard to spend all of this ARPA money on broadband with Elon Musk’s worldwide internet service, Starlink, coming in the near future.

Sink said they are looking at it and searching for what is feasible cost-wise. Davis said its hard to pick and choose. Sink noted the companies making the pitch are looking toward their bottom line. 

She told the council members, “One hundred and ten thousand dollars does not fall out of the sky very often. Spend it wisely.”