As a spending deadline nears, the Springfield City Council is keeping a close eye on millions in unobligated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds — allocated for city projects and external organizations.
The City Council will also consider allocating the city’s remaining ARPA fund balance of more than $1.4 million; the Council ARPA Review Committee recommended about $900,000 for the Cooper Park projects and more than $534,000 for Historic City Hall renovations at its Feb. 15 meeting. The City Council previously awarded the two projects a total of $11.3 million in ARPA funds.
As council members consider awarding the last of the city’s state and local fiscal recovery funds, city government staffers are looking to ensure the ARPA funds in the budget are obligated by September, ahead of a looming deadline.
All ARPA funds must be obligated by Dec. 31, 2024, or they will have to be returned to the federal government. Once obligated, funds must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026. While allocating the remaining $1.4 million to Cooper Park and Historic City Hall will mean the city has budgeted all of the ARPA funds it received, most of the awards are still yet to be fully spent. Either an order for items or property must be placed, or contracts for services must be signed and executed in order for funds to be considered obligated under the ARPA law.
“We’re not going to return money if we have anything to say about it,” said Councilmember Matthew Simpson, chair of the ARPA committee.
Most projects yet to obligate funds
City ARPA funding has been fully expended for only three projects — Missouri State University’s Grand Street underpass, the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds’ new Wilson Logistics Arena and CASA of Southwest Missouri’s new clubhouse.
Twelve awards have only been partially obligated — anywhere from 1% to 85% — and nine allocations haven’t been obligated at all. The reasons why millions of dollars remain unspent vary project to project.
For example, the Community Partnership of the Ozarks is still looking for a site for a “purpose-driven day center” and the Ozark Greenways is still working on a railroad agreement for the development of the Chadwick Flyer Trail.
The Boys and Girls Clubs spent about 44% of the $2 million it received in ARPA funds from the city for its center for teens, which had its groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 15. The City Council is also set to vote on a $1.1 million ARPA grant to help the Council of Churches of the Ozarks to secure a permanent location for its women’s shelter, Safe to Sleep.
Regarding city projects, a recently-completed housing study is yet to be paid for, renovations to City Hall are just getting started and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board is in the process of selecting a contractor for construction at Cooper Park.
Even with the impending deadline, city government staffers expressed confidence that ARPA projects are “on track,” and will monitor their progress throughout the year. If, as the deadline approaches, a project fails to come to fruition, Simpson said the City Council would need to consider reallocating the funding for something that can be delivered in time.
More information on how the City of Springfield allocated the $40.2 million in ARPA funds it received can be found on the city’s website, or in the Hauxeda's coverage of ARPA funding.
