Mayor Sarno Announces $2.2 million in 11th Round of ARPA Funding Awards

$1,395,000 is being awarded to 23 small businesses and $888,820.70 is awarded to 16 nonprofits.  Additionally, $350,000 is being awarded under the Build Back Springfield program to support the redevelopment efforts of a vacant and historically significant building on Maple Street. 

In total, through all eleven rounds of ARPA awards, approximately 88% of business applications awarded have been to either minority and/or woman owned businesses, and approximately 66% of total award funding have been to either minority and/or woman owned businesses.    

This announcement continues to build off of almost two years of hard work and dedication from the Sarno Administration, that started with Mayor Sarno and city officials conducting a citywide listening tour session, meeting with over 35 organizations, nonprofits and neighborhood councils to help develop this all-encompassing and comprehensive approach to provide immediate relief and assistance to Springfield residents, businesses and nonprofits, especially for our minority and historically under-served populations. 

Mayor Sarno states, “This is now especially important and why we moved quickly to award and allocate these funds due to some Congressional leaders now looking to clawback these much-needed relief funds to deal with their debt ceiling situation.” 

“This 11^th round of ARPA awards announcement is the culmination of my administration’s efforts to get this much-needed relief and assistance out to our residents, business community and nonprofits ASAP.  I am proud of my administration’s efforts in getting this funding out into our community to those in need.  This is all about supporting that good four-letter word, JOBS!  No other community in the Commonwealth or the nation has been as proactive and deliberate in getting this relief out to our residents, businesses, nonprofits and neighborhoods in need that have been adversely impacted by the pandemic.  I am also proud of the fact that 88% of total funding for small businesses has been awarded to minority and/or women owned businesses.”

“My administration has awarded millions directly to our community, especially to our local neighborhood small businesses, which are the backbone of our neighborhoods and provide economic viability for our city,” said Mayor Sarno. 

Those small businesses and nonprofits receiving funding include:

Andrew Melendez, Founder/Director for the Latino Economic Development Corp. stated, "I stand before you today filled with gratitude and appreciation for the support that our small and micro business community has received from Mayor Sarno. As you all know, the past few years has been one of the most challenging periods in recent history, particularly for businesses, and the LatinoEDC has been working tirelessly to provide assistance to those in need.  We are incredibly grateful that Mayor Sarno has recognized the importance of supporting  businesses in our community and has taken action to make a difference. This allocation of $100,000 in support of our efforts is a testament to his commitment to the economic growth and prosperity of our region."  

"What sets Mayor Sarno apart from his peers is his direct investment in our community. He is the only Mayor in the region that has given the majority of ARPA money to the community directly, which is a testament to his understanding of the needs and challenges that small business owners and community organizations face on a daily basis," Melendez continued.  "Mayor Sarno's support has allowed us to continue our vital work in providing resources, education, and advocacy to the Latino small business community. His actions have made a real difference in the lives of many entrepreneurs and their families.  So today, on behalf of the LatinoEDC, I would like to express our appreciation to Mayor Sarno for his commitment to our community. We are proud to work alongside him to support the economic growth and prosperity of our region, and we look forward to continuing our partnership in the years to come.”

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In November 2021, Mayor Sarno, CAFO TJ Plante and CDO Tim Sheehan announced the Build Back Springfield program that invested $15 million with a focus on recognizing the economic, environmental and cultural value of preserving older and locally significant landmark buildings and structures.  The city seeks to encourage adaptive reuse plans to revitalize buildings that complements the neighborhood while providing for new economic growth and employment opportunities.

Today’s announcement includes the awarding of $350,000 to a Build Back Springfield project that aims to support the stabilization of the vacant and historically significant building at 169 Maple Street.   

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Additionally, Mayor Sarno provided an update on the direct cash assistance for Springfield households.  To date, over 3,000 house applications have been approved with a total of over $4.2 million being directly awarded to Springfield residents/households.  Over 19,000 applications for direct cash assistance had been received.  Pending applications continue to be reviewed for eligibility.      

“It was important for my administration to award as much of our local allocation of federal ARPA funding to our residents, businesses and nonprofits,” Mayor Sarno continued.  “Unfortunately, our local allocation of ARPA funding is coming to an end and we must now start looking at our local citywide municipal projects.  I want to thank everyone for their understanding and patience.  We waited till the end to award as many qualifying applications as possible.” 

“Due to the tremendous volume of request for direct assistance, and in order to expedite and facilitate the process of reviewing the pending applications so that we can get our Springfield families in need their assistance, ASAP, I have put out an RFP for third party assistance.  Once approved, this third party will help to efficiently and effectively review and approve the remaining pending direct cash assistance applications for households.”

“It is clear from the heavy volume of request for assistance that there is still a need for assistance from these positive and successful programs and initiatives that my administration has implemented.  In order to continue to keep these programs and initiatives going strong, so that they can continue to provide much-needed relief and assistance for our residents and businesses, I will continue to advocate and request from our local Springfield state delegation if they can secure and bring home much-needed state funding to the city of Springfield to support and continue funding our existing programs.”

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Chief Administrative and Financial Officer (CAFO) TJ Plante stated, “For almost two years, our dedicated ARPA team has thoroughly reviewed the nearly twenty thousand applications received and has awarded a total of approximately $102 million to many households, businesses, nonprofits and neighborhood councils.  This eleventh round of announcements is the culmination of a lot of hard work and we are pleased to announce that approximately 66% of total funding to small businesses has been awarded to minority and/or women owned businesses.  We are hopeful that the state can help and support the many programs and initiatives Mayor Sarno has created and implemented so that we can continue to provide relief and assistance to our community.”

Chief Development Officer (CDO) Tim Sheehan added, “As we conclude almost two years of ARPA awards, it is amazing to see the breadth of the awards announced to date, the potential impact they will have on our local economy both today and going forward into the future and the overt attention paid to ensuring that the vast majority of the City’s ARPA resources were invested in the neighborhoods, people and businesses that were disproportionally impacted by COVID. “     

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To date, this 11^th round of ARPA funding brings the total amount that has been awarded and/or allocated to approximately $102 million.  The remaining balance of the city’s allocation of local ARPA funding will be utilized to award the remaining pending applications that qualify and for the various citywide projects that will benefit all residents.  

Mayor Sarno remains proud of the fact that he is the only mayor in the state and one of the few in the nation to put forth such a comprehensive and all-encompassing initiative to get local federal ARPA funding directly into the community. 

“My dedicated finance and economic development team have been very thorough, doing their due diligence throughout this process.  Together, we have met with almost all of our local neighborhood councils, as part of my administrations citywide listening tour, to hear directly from them what their needs are to help enhance the quality of life and aesthetics of our neighborhoods – much like what was done with many of the post-2011 tornado economic and neighborhood development projects and initiatives.  It is important to mention that most of these projects will take time to get underway, designed and implemented.  We must remain cognizant of the fact that we still need to complete these projects and initiatives within a certain timeframe to meet all of the federal requirements for committing and allocating our local ARPA funding,” said Mayor Sarno.

It is important to note that the city of Springfield remains on target to meet the federal requirements to have all ARPA funding committed by 2024 and allocated by 2026. 

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In closing, Mayor Sarno stated, “Once again, I thank our residents, businesses and nonprofits for their continued patience and understanding.  The volume of requests and needs has been enormous.  Again, I would like to thank Congressman Richard Neal, who once a mayor always the heart of a mayor, President Biden and Congress for their efforts to bring this much-needed direct relief to the city of Springfield.”    

The City of Springfield received $123.8 million in ARPA funding as part of the $350 billion federal American Rescue Plan Act designated for direct aid to state, local and tribal governments.  After meeting with over 35 neighborhood councils and other organizations as part of Mayor Sarno’s citywide listening sessions to hear directly from our residents and the business community, Mayor Sarno identified seven categories in which RFP’s will be utilized to enhance projects, programs and initiatives across the city for the betterment of our residents and businesses.  They include:  Nonprofit Assistance, New Business Assistance, Small Business Assistance, Senior Citizen Assistance, Neighborhood/Household Assistance, Capital Projects/Public Space Improvements, and Job Creation/Economic Development