At its June 13 meeting, the Select Board began its first round of deliberation on how to spend the town’s $9.34 million in American Rescue Plan funding.

The money can only be spent on four main goals: replace public sector revenue loss; support public health responses; mitigate negative economic impacts of the pandemic; and to make investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.

Dartmouth will receive $3,578,409 in ARPA funds directly from the federal government. Additional money, currently estimated at $5,763,180, would be appropriated from Bristol County.

The county is also expected to hold back an estimated $877,000, according to Town Administrator Shawn MacInnes.

All funds need to be committed to projects by 2024.

Recently, the town’s Capital Planning Committee made its recommendation on where those funds should go for fiscal year 2023. Currently, the town has plans to spend $4,163,886.

Under the proposal, the Department of Public Works would receive $882,500 for emergency generators, rebuilding belt filter presses used for water treatment, and improvements to the computerized system which runs the pump stations.

Select Board member Heidi Brooks said she thought the investment in DPW would be a good way to help put residents' minds at ease, particularly on issues such as the town’s water quality.

“It’s something we need to go forth with,” she said.

The Capital Planning Committee also recommends spending more than $1.6 million of town ARPA funds on parks and recreation, the bulk of which — $1,192,000 — would go toward the design and engineering costs of a proposed community center.

There are also appropriations toward the construction of pickleball courts next to the basketball courts where Slocum Road converges with Russells Mills Road.

The remaining $5,177,703 would be spent in FY24 to possibly cover capital project cost overages and replacing the 20-year-old roof at Dartmouth High.

While officials agreed on the need for these improvements, they questioned why there weren’t recommendations toward more big-ticket projects such as updating the many aging school buildings and replacing the Padanaram Bridge.

“We’re still kicking the can down the road with the bridge,” Vice Chair Stanley Mickelson said. “Every year we kick it down a little further and one day it’s not going to work.”

Director of Budget and Finance Greg Barnes said the reason for the lack of more big-picture spending is due to restrictions the county has placed on its allotment of ARPA funds. According to Barnes, county money is limited to sewer, water, and broadband infrastructure.

“We can also do housing and public safety, but we can’t for example use it to build a new school or a bridge,” he said. “It doesn’t qualify.”

With regard to housing, Board member Frank Gracie III wondered why there wasn’t any allocation of funds to the Mendes-Monteiro project in FY23.

According to the Dartmouth Housing Authority, the project is nearly “shovel-ready,” but is about $1 million short on capital. 

The building, which will be built on Anderson Way, will provide eight affordable housing units for seniors who receive services from the Department of Mental Health. The project has an estimated price tag of about $3.5 million to $3.7 million.

MacInnes noted that the state has committed $840,000 from its ARPA allotment to the project, but officials will meet later in the month to see if additional funding is needed.

Ultimately, the Select Board decided to continue its review process before it can make any commitments to the recommended ARPA projects.