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SPENCER – Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) took center stage at the Board of Selectmen’s meeting on December 16.
A committee devoted to reviewing applications from local nonprofits came up with recommendations on which the board voted.
Town Administrator Jeff Bridges noted the town and nonprofits had to enter into a signed agreement regarding the use of funds.
Receiving the maximum of $20,000 were the following Spencer organizations: American Legion; Beautifying Oncology Spa Services; Camp Marshall (three allocations for camp improvements, staff development and stable improvements); Friends of the Senior Center (food distribution); the Exchange Club (18 under 18 program); Knights of Columbus; Maple Brook Sanctuary (facility improvements); Rescue Squad (defibrillated lifeline ARMS); Little League (building improvements); and Jennifer McLaughlin Fund (recreation improvements).
Other recipients were the Ronald Burgess Foundation, which received $14,110 for its youth mentoring program and the Common Ground Land Trust that got $16,704 for trails improvements.
Selectman Tony Pepe noted very few towns gave out ARPA funds, thanking everyone who was involved with the nonprofit initiative.
Selectman Ralph Hicks reminded recipients to sign the agreement with the town as soon as possible because the Act expires on December 31.
Selectman Gary Woodbury reminded the nonprofits to be careful with their accounting and only use the funds for what is stipulated in the agreement.
In a related matter, Bridges noted selectmen wanted a mechanism for residents in need to receive ARPA money. He said that the Charitable Needs Commission agreed to take responsibility for $100,000 of those ARPA funds.
Bridges explained that the Commission had rules and criteria it followed, directly paying bills rather than granting the money to the individuals.
While calling the charitable program “fantastic,” Woodbury took issue with the fact that it did not have to go through the process the nonprofits did and was receiving five times more money.
He said the Commission is not a town department and he had not seen its earnings or report to the Department of Revenue.
“All of a sudden, you change criteria. It is supposed to benefit everybody and keep the rules the same,” Woodbury said. He added that prioritizing this area over people who help cancer patients or get senior citizens food, for example, did not seem fair.
Bridges disagreed, saying it is a town commission in existence before ARPA and the Commission annually submits information in the town report. It was established in 1938.
Bridges said the Commission is covered by professional liability insurance and during the three years he has worked in Spencer, he has re-appointed members if they want to continue serving.
“I don’t understand the disconnect,” Bridges said.
The town administrator said the same process would be used by the Commission as it had for its other endowments. “You’ll get quarterly reports on how they use the funds.”
Pepe said he agreed with distinguishing this fund from that entity’s other ones so it can be “distinct and traceable.”
Hicks said he had changed his opinion on the matter after giving it some thought.
“COVID hit a lot of people hard. I would hope they make special cases for people who lost their jobs or are behind on a mortgage because of COVID,” he said.
Hicks described Spencer as a “have and have not,” town, with some residents living in nice homes and others in apartments, “barely scraping by.”
Woodbury said he did not want to “beat a dead horse” on the matter, adding, “My job is to make sure I bring concerns forward that I’m hearing. The voters tell us to do it.”
Vice chair Jared Grigg noted that this was the best means to get help to individual residents because it had processes in place to pay bills and check them.
“We don’t have time to come up with another solution,” he said. “If rent is $1,000, at maximum, we help 100 people. We’ll help those that we can.”
Selectmen also voted to allocate ARPA funds derived from projects that had been allocated money but had not spent all of it.
The total of $252,784 would go towards items that would normally fall under capital projects and include replacement of computers that cannot be upgraded or are more than four and half years old, Bridges said.
Bridges said the remainder would be put toward the library project and to the fire department to supplement its budget.
The administrator said when he was hired three years ago, he was charged with helping the town come up with ways to allocate ARPA funds.
“We’ve done some pretty unique things with use of these funds,” Bridges said.
He added that communities across the nation will be trying to allocate funds before the Act expires at year’s end.
He thanked the committees that had worked on the issue, adding, “we put a lot back in the community.”
