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ARPA and STEAP at the BOS

Government is full of acronyms, and at Thursday’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting two important ones were on the agenda. 


First, the easy one. 


The Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) is open for applications, and Amber Wakley-Whaley, Director of Grants and Community Development for Stafford, went before the BOS to ask them to take the proper steps to pursue a grant for $1 million for a Hampden Road reconstruction project. At the meeting, the board approved a resolution to authorize First Selectman Bill Morrison to accept and take any steps necessary to enter into an agreement to obtain the grant.


On the ARPA side of things, Wakley-Whaley was there to talk about the summer recreation program. During the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years, ARPA paid for the rec program, but program participants were still charged a fee. The fees totaled $70,258, and the intent was to use these funds to help find the program in the future. ARPA requires that these funds be used for ARPA-eligible expenses completed before December 31, 2024.


To make this happen, Wakley-Whaley suggested “the funds be allocated via the substitute project allocation method in the general fund in FY 2025.” In other words, the funds will pay for projects that would otherwise have been paid for out of the general fund. In this case, $57,300 will go toward vehicle replacement and $12,958 toward paving. Meanwhile, the funds that would have been used to pay for these projects will be earmarked for the recreation program. 


All the necessary motions passed with Morrison and Rick Hartenstein voting for, and Kurt Vail absent.

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