ARPA spending challenged

CHENEY – On April 12, Derek Beziotis, owner of Bene’s, a breakfast spot located on West First Street, told the Cheney City Council he feels “left behind” with their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocation.

Beziotis said the city should inject additional ARPA funds into the small business economy instead of using them on infrastructure projects like replacing water pipes and expanding its broadband systems.

“Ninety-seven percent of Cheney’s ARPA funds are for infrastructure—only .004 percent of Cheney’s ARPA funds are being used for your small businesses. Your small business community feels left behind,” Beziotis said with a grim tone as he walked away from the podium.

The city council discussed the allocated ARPA funding during the March 22 meeting. So far, the city has already spent $483,599.68 on utility assistance, sewer leak detection, a new street sweeper, mobile work orders, a vaccination subsidy and an online utility payment portal.

According to the ARPA uses and plan worksheet, a little more than $3 million in funding remains, but it’s mainly for infrastructure projects “labeled as use” for the financing. These projects include council meeting remote hardware, IT infrastructure upgrades, and several water projects.

“Infrastructure isn’t going anywhere and needs to be budgeted on a regular basis, not just with our ARPA funding,” Carin Blair-Hoober, manager of Eagle Bites, said during her public comment on April 12. “We want to revitalize Cheney and our businesses, but we aren’t seeing action for businesses in these regards.”

The ARPA worksheet lists $15,000 for downtown revitalization: a small portion of the $3 million available. Blair-Hoober said during her comments that using bulk one-time sums like ARPA funding for infrastructure is short-sided. She believes those projects should be budgeted into the regular budget spending while bulk sums get used in ways that are more valuable to the community.

Beziotis spoke with Nadine Woodward, Spokane’s mayor, regarding Spokane’s allocated ARPA funding. Woodward told him they handled it much differently than Cheney. Beziotis said Spokane had three town hall meetings about ARPA funding allocation. He said there is also an entire web page on my.spokanecity.org dedicated to ARPA funds. The city of Spokane also drafted an email encouraging further public comments on where the money should be spent.

According to the city of Spokane’s official website, their ARPA money is going to things like low-income housing, employment support in the arts, and funding childcare providers. Upgrading city parks with bathroom facilities and play equipment and paying for projects that hold city-wide significance is also on the list.

Beziotis wishes Cheney City Council would take a similar approach in including the community in the ARPA funds spending process.

“We have until 2024 to spend this money, so let’s plan it out,” Beziotis said. “Let’s have our community meetings, and let’s do it the right way.”

Blair-Hoober implored the city council to hold off on allocating any more ARPA funding until an emergency meeting with Cheney residents, and small business owners can be orgainzed. Beziotis reiterated this point several times during an interview with the Cheney Free Press.

“We just need to pump the brakes—they need to stop everything, start fresh, and involve every aspect of this community,” Beziotis said.

 

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