Strasburg to get nearly $7 million in federal funds
Below is an article that appeared in the Northern Virginia Daily on June 16th, 2021.
STRASBURG — The town of Strasburg will receive about $3.46 million as part of the first round of disbursements from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act approved by Congress and signed by President Biden earlier this year.
In addition to the $3.4 million in the first round of ARPA, the town will receive another $3.46 million next year.
The Town Council discussed what to do with the money at its Monday night work session.
The ARPA funding will first go to the state, and then get disbursed to the town through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, Interim Town Manager Jay McKinley told the council.
In contrast to the Coronavirus Aid Recovery and Economic Security Act (CARES), which reimbursed the town for money spent, the new stimulus funds will be provided to the town upfront and can be spent as the town desires within certain categories.
The town received $354,742 through CARES.
The nearly $7 million over the next two years can be spent on public health, address negative economic impacts addressed by the COVID-19 pandemic, replace lost public sector revenue, provide pay for essential workers or be invested in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
“That’s a broad umbrella,” Vice Mayor Ken Cherrix said during the work session.
If the money is spent in ways that don’t fall within the funding categories, the town will have to pay the money back, McKinley told the council.
“We really need to vet projects carefully,” McKinley said.
The town has until December 2024 to enter into contracts with any companies for spending the new money and the work must be completed by December 2026, McKinley said. The CARES funds were required to be spent within in a tight window of time.
Town staff has started working on a list of potential projects, McKinley said, including spending the money on replacing water pipes and water meters.
Any funds budgeted for projects that could be paid for with this new federal money would be freed up for other projects, McKinley noted.
Councilman John Massoud asked if the funds could go toward salary increases or bonuses for all town employees. McKinley wasn’t clear on the definition of an essential employee just yet, but he did say that the guidance is not to have funds go toward new positions that will require funding after the stimulus money is spent.
Mayor Brandy Boise suggested the possibility of forming a task force of two council members, similar to what they did with the CARES money, to coordinate the spending. Council members Dane Hooser and Emily Reynolds were on the task force last time.
McKinley noted any actual spending of the dollars should be left until after a full-time town manager is hired.
On the topic of the town manager search, the council went into a closed session at the end of the meeting to discuss it. No action was taken after the session, Boies said by phone interview Tuesday, but the council did narrow down the list of 20 candidates to five.
The candidates vary from local to out-of-state candidates, with some having town manager experience or local government experience, Boies said. A meeting for 8:30 a.m. June 26 will be scheduled to interview the candidates, Boies said. It is not clear if a hiring decision will be made then or at a subsequent meeting.
Former councilman Scott Terndrup told the council at the start of the work session they should add a line saying “qualified candidates of color are encouraged to apply,” to make it clear that people of color, particularly black candidates, are invited to apply. Boies said on Tuesday, it’s too late to add that to the job listing, but acknowledged Terndrup’s comments and said the town is working toward encouraging people of all backgrounds to apply.
The council also went into a closed session to talk about the acquisition of rights of ways for the Borden Mowery Drive Extension project at the business industrial park. Council took no action afterward. The project is budgeted for $2.1 million dollars in next year’s capital improvement plan, but those costs may change based on negotiations for acquiring the rights of ways, the council discussed.
Boies advised the council of a topic for the Planning Commission meeting for June 22, which will then come before the council on July 13 for a public hearing and potential vote. Boies said the topic will be a new business for the business industrial park. The potential new business is not a storage facility.
Contact Charles Paullin at cpaullin@nvdaily.com
