BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Bellows Falls Village Trustees discussed American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Municipal Manager Scott Pickup gave the board a list of department suggestions and those that scored the highest at the public meetings held in May 2022.
ARPA funds were distributed nationwide and Bellows Falls received roughly $880,000. The Vermont League of Cities & Towns (VLCT) offered guidelines for municipality spending to include; prioritizing short-term investment with lasting benefits, long-term investment in urgent health and economic needs, collaboration with community partners and organizations, leveraging other funding, and avoiding budget deficits.
Trustee James McAuliffe identified two he supported; the sally port, a secured controlled entry at the public safety building, and a biosolid storage building.
Village President Deborah Wright said the sally port cost was too high; it would take half the allotment of ARPA funding. Pickup said they had based the pricing on Chester’s new facility and their sally port design.
Trustee Jeff Dunbar asked if the sally port was filling a new need or a current deficiency. Pickup said it was an accepted practice for both the safety of officers and prisoners.
Trustee Stefan Golec said it would also offer a secure location for impounded vehicles.
Dunbar clarified, “do we have a greater need than we had in the past” for the addition. Pickup said the department reports more items seized and more uncooperative criminals than when the building was built in the 80s.
Trustee Wade Masure said this would also provide a warm place to leave vehicles instead of leaving them idling all night. He said Jim Smith of J&S Auto mentioned the life of vehicles wasn’t determined by mileage but by idle time.
Dunbar suggested spending prioritization and said he understood that the response should be a condition caused by Covid.
Pickup said they had expanded the scope of acceptable uses.
Dunbar said, “we have a huge responsibility to vote on the use of this one-time fund.” He suggested looking at long-term impact and said it would be helpful to rate each item on the list for the impact on the community.
Pickup explained other items on the list; the boiler at the Greater Rockingham Area Services (GRAS) which scored highly at the May meetings and a proposed pickleball court addressing the lack of senior recreational opportunities.
Wright said the only item that fell into Covid recovery funding, and was a project she supported giving ARPA funding to was the biosolid storage tank. She said Saxtons River had allocated their funding to include a new vehicle chassis and software upgrades, and had heard the GRAS project had already received their funding.
Pickup said the project cost for the GRAS boiler was $1.887 million and there were committed funds of $1.070 million. They had received grants from Northern Borders for $817,000, Vermont capital improvements for $17,000, Wood Waste heating for $60,000, and Efficiency Vermont for $50,000. That left $887,000 still pending, and applications had been filed for a grant through the Community Block Development and a loan from USDA for $200,000.
Wright’s concern was that as a private nonprofit that benefits the entire community, “the entire community is not contributing funds.”
She recommended the village provide seed capital to help many of the individual projects submitted and suggested the village move away from fossil fuels.
McAuliffe urged the board if they had other ideas, they should be on the list. He said they needed to make a decision, but agreed the GRAS building was a critical service.
McAuliffe said, the Bellows Falls population would be hard pressed if the facility closed, “certainly that project is very important to the village.” He said the sally port had been discussed for more than two years and said the safety of officers and issue with running vehicles was an important factor to consider.
Dunbar agreed and wanted more information; looking at maintenance costs that would add to future budgets, versus something that provides revenue or lowers costs to taxpayers.
Pickup agreed the sally port would extend the life of police department vehicles, saving taxpayer money. The village will continue budget discussions on Feb. 14 and March 14.
The village trustees meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m in the lower theatre of the Bellows Falls Opera House.