Coventry T.C. holds hearing on use of ARPA funds

COVENTRY — From allocating funds to the town’s fire districts, to tackling projects that will improve the health of its lakes and ponds, residents so far have proposed a range of uses for the federal funds headed Coventry’s way through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

A survey posted to the town's website asking for input on the matter had yielded 113 responses as of Monday night, Town Manager Benjamin Marchant said. And during a hearing held this week via Zoom, the Coventry Town Council invited residents to chime in publicly on how they think the $8.6 million that the town anticipates getting should be spent.

So far, there’s been quite a bit of support shown for divvying up some of the funds among the fire districts that have worked tirelessly over the last two years.

Given the role that Coventry’s four fire districts have played throughout the pandemic, Jim Kuipers, a member of the Central Coventry Fire District Board of Directors, suggested to councilors on Monday that an appropriate portion of the town’s ARPA funds be directed to the districts.

“We would like to work with you further to, hopefully, share in some of those funds, based on the fact that we’ve all been in this together; we’ve all been working together to support our taxpayers,” Kuipers told councilors, speaking on behalf of the Central Coventry, Coventry, Western Coventry and Hopkins Hill fire districts.

None of the funds within the stimulus bill that was signed into law last March will be provided directly to independent fire districts, Kuipers said. The bill does, however, include a provision permitting the allocation of funds to special districts, under which the fire districts qualify.

Read the full article with the Kent County Daily Times.