January 21, 2022 |City of Lynn, COVID-19, From the Mayor, News

City of Lynn Launches ARPA Community Outreach and Engagement with LynnARPA.com | January 21, 2022

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The City of Lynn launched LynnARPA.com, a website providing information about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and the opportunities for the city to aid recovery efforts and rebuild focused through the lens of equity and inclusion.

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law. The City will receive over $75 million in ARPA funds over the next two years. Half of this funding was received on May 20, 2021. The remaining half will be available in May of 2022.

“I am grateful to the Federal Government for making these funds available which will greatly assist our community with mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a website to educate community members, share information receive input and to track the funding is a matter of transparency, maintaining trust with the public, and making decisions inclusively,” said Mayor Jared C. Nicholson. “We want community members to be informed about how ARPA funds will benefit the entire community and the opportunities ahead to be a part of the decision-making process of where these funds should be applied.”

To date, the city has dedicated $13.5 million to improving the air quality in our municipal-owned buildings by replacing and upgrading the HVAC systems throughout public buildings in Lynn. $500,000 is being directed to purchase rapid COVID antigen test kits and $3 million is being allocated to the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC) for small business relief grants. The remaining $58 million will be dedicated toward initiatives and priorities which will be developed by the community following through robust community engagement.   In order to receive input from as many of the City’s diverse population as possible, $800,000 is being allocated for citywide translators.

This effort will identify the City’s most urgent needs in areas such as:

• Public Health
• Housing
• Food Security
• Workforce Development
• Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development
• Environmental Health & Open Space
• Behavioral & Mental Health

Council President Jay Walsh has appointed Councilor-at-Large Brian Field as the council liaison to communicate between the Mayor’s Office and the City Council in the roll out of ARPA funding.

“Knowing that this is a once in a generation opportunity, I know my colleagues and I feel very strong about how and where the money gets spent.  We appreciate the open communication Mayor Nicholson has had with the Council, even before being sworn in, and we look forward to working with him, his staff and the entire community deciding on what areas will have the greatest impact when investing the ARPA funds,” said Councilor Field.  “Including the public in the decision making is important and we look forward to working with everyone involved.” The City will continue to add details on how it spends the funds to benefit all community members.

Council President Jay Walsh has appointed Councilor-at-Large Brian Field as the council liaison to communicate between the Mayor’s Office and the City Council in the roll out of ARPA funding.

“Knowing that this is a once in a generation opportunity, I know my colleagues and I feel very strong about how and where the money gets spent.  We appreciate the open communication Mayor Nicholson has had with the Council, even before being sworn in, and we look forward to working with him, his staff and the entire community deciding on what areas will have the greatest impact when investing the ARPA funds,” said Councilor Field.  “Including the public in the decision making is important and we look forward to working with everyone involved.” The City will continue to add details on how it spends the funds to benefit all community members.

In February, the City will launch a series of educational community meetings and public input sessions, as well as a series of surveys to gather feedback on proposed uses of ARPA funds; additional details are outlined on the LynnARPA.com website. We encourage community members to visit the site and sign up for email updates.

The above press release was submitted to us by Mayor Nicholson’s office.