NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city will be seeking public input on the best uses of some of the $2 million it is receiving in federal COVID-19 relief funding.

 

Mayor Thomas Bernard said his main focus for the funds will be infrastructure, specifically water and sewer,

and for local economic recovery.

 

The City Council on Tuesday accepted $1,902,542 in the first tranche of the federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. The total amount the state is getting for municipalities is $3.34 billion of which North Adams will receive a total of $3,805,084, including $666,000 that will go directly to the city because there is no county government.

 

"The purposes of the funding include public health, recovery support to businesses and households, revenue replacement and infrastructure investment, for example water sewer and broadband investments," Bernard told the council. "Ineligible uses of the funds include pension payments, debt payments, transfer to stabilization, and the use of these funds which ultimately are federal funds as federal matching funds."

 

In response to questions, the mayor said he saw the spending priorities as probably 3-1 in terms of infrastructure and human services. With a million dollars a year, at least $750,000 would go for infrastructure and the other 25 percent to community needs. 

 

Bernard committed to immediately spending $80,000 for a hydraulic modeling and water rate study plan will set the stage for a lot of other water projects the city needs. 

 

"My intent is to launch an economic recovery fund," he further said. "My vision for this is going to be something that would be open both to small businesses and to human service providers to get to the level of meeting urgent community needs related to the recovery. ... 

 

"This is the piece of public funding where we have the greatest opportunity to collect and gather community input, so we're in the process, as I said, of completing the survey application."

 

Councilor Jessica Sweeney said she's been hearing from small-business owners of the difficulty in navigating the federal funding and that housing appears to be a looming crisis, seeing opportunity for the city to be an advocate in those areas. Councilor Benjamin Lamb asked if there was an "aggregation of community feedback" that the city could draw from. The mayor noted the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition needs survey and its credibility within the community.

 

Councilor Bryan Sapienza asked if the money could be used toward the obsolete public safety building. 

 

"I'm not sure that this funding would get us there," the mayor said, and referred to the necessity of getting the feasibility study funding sitting in the state bond bill. "But I think the full court advocacy press as the rollout plan for the rest of the state ARPA money, that's where I think we have our best chance."

 

Bernard, who is not running for re-election, said it will be up to the next administration to really think about the investment and use schedule. However, his through process has been to divide the funds up it up into 6-month increments, which would give the city about $543,000 in each period.

 

"That's not saying that by the end of this year we will only have spent $543,000, but that there will be a significant amount of money left on the table going into the future," he said. "I think the reasons for that are both to make sure that we are investing at a capacity that we can keep up with, but also that that funding is adaptable enough to respond to changing circumstances over the next 2 1/2-3 years."

 

The city's fire chief and new deputy chief were sworn in at the beginning of Tuesday's meeting. Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre had been sworn in earlier this year in a small ceremony in City Hall because of pandemic restrictions but Bernard thought it important he have the opportunity to take the oath publicly with his family in attendance.

 

Robert Patenaude, a lieutenant, was formally sworn in as deputy chief. 

 

The council approved the addition of a deputy chief in this year's budget; the position will be in charge of inspections and training, as well as backup for the fire chief. 

 

Bernard described Patenaude as "a distinguished firefighter with a strong record of service and commitment to the department and the residents of the city of North Adams. I am confident that he will continue to serve the city of North Adams with distinction in this new role."

 

In addition, firefighter John F. Lancto was newly promoted to lieutenant and Scott A. Bona and Jordan D. Mendez were sworn in as new reserve firefighters.

 

Both Patenaude and Lancto were pinned by their fathers, both former firefighters.

 

In other business, the council approved a transfer of $199,930 from the Landfill Reserve Account to the transfer station and capital expense budget to address improvements at the transfer station mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection. 

 

• The council accepted a donation of two framed panoramic photos — one of the city and the other of its Sister City, Tremosine Sul Garda, Italy. The donation, valued at $500 from the Eclipse Mill Lofts Condominium Trust, was first approved by the Public Arts Commission. The panoramas were taken by noted photographer Kelly Lee, who joined one of the early annual trips to Tremosine started in 2005 by Edward Morandi and the  late Dr. John Moresi. The trust purchased the images but has decided they would best be exhibited in City Hall. 

 

The images are of the peaks of Northern Italy and its buildings' red tiled roofs mirroring the rolling Berkshire mountains and the red brick of the sprawling Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art with St. Elizabeth's in the corner.

 

• The mayor read a proclamation recognizing "Start with Hello Week." The school district has been involved with the program, part of the Sandy Hook Promise, for years. City officials and community members were on hand on Monday for a community welcome day; other events including walking and biking to school also take place. The goal is to let children know they are not alone and to create a culture of inclusion.

 

• Councilor Wayne Wilkinson brought a letter from A Street resident Chester L Oakes about issues with water streaming from Drury High's emergency parking lot exit filling his basement and traffic using or driving around the gated exit. Bernard said the city is working to resolve the water issue but couldn't lock the gate since it was an emergency access. Lamb suggested possible obstacles that would prevent vehicles from going around the gate.