Bristol creates grant writer role, considers ARPA projects

The town of Bristol is in the process of developing a grant writer and administrator position that municipal officials hope will help the town bring in more money.

The town of Middlebury is preparing to invest millions in its water, sewer and transportation infrastructure, a to-do list that will benefit this year from $2.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money.

An American Rescue Plan Act grant of $829,409 awarded by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation jointly to Collins Aerospace and the city of Vergennes will ease the Panton Road firm’s burden on the city’s wastewater system.

The projects recommended for funding included sprinklers for the Bristol Family Center and a grant-writing position for the town, among others.

Vergennes residents will likely get a chance to weigh in on how the city will spend its roughly $770,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. 

Too many voices confuse best options. That’s because while the ARPA funds represent a significant windfall for small towns, it’s not so much that it can solve multiple ills. 

Municipal officials and citizens in Addison County differ on how towns should spend their share of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and on how extensive public participation has been in making those funding decisions.

The Vergennes City Council last week declined to spend $20,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to co-fund with Ferrisburgh a $40,000 study how the two communities — and other towns in the area — could cooperate in providing fire protection and em … (read more)

The Ferrisburgh selectboard on Oct. 4 voted to earmark about $188,000 of the town’s roughly $800,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for pressing town needs

Priorities for spending Bristol’s $1.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds appear to be coalescing around several themes.

Middlebury officials are zeroing in on potential uses for the town’s $2.6 million in federal COVID relief funding, uses that will likely include support of wastewater, water, transportation and broadband infrastructure improvements, as well as a temporary … (read more)

Selectboard Chair Jess James said the board plans to hold a meeting devoted to requests for ARPA funds, including a discussion of the town’s priorities and long-range vision for how the funds could do the most good.

Like last year, another year of record federal aid, the governor didn’t have to fret about which programs to trim, but rather which programs got extra funding and which taxes got reduced.

By a 3-2 vote, the board backed what was town residents’ top choice in a fall survey on how the board should use its ARPA allocation.

Maple Broadband, the nonprofit devoted to bringing high-speed internet to rural areas in 20 Addison County towns, emerged as the favorite target for Ferrisburgh’s $804,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds.