Valparaiso City Council approves ARPA spending plan draft

At the end of January, the city launched an ARPA portal where residents could share spending suggestions. The portal closed on March 1 and received a total of 134 responses covering everything from premium pay to increased affordable housing.

During a Monday night meeting, the City Council passed a resolution approving a draft ARPA spending plan with a vote of 5-1. 

Local nonprofit leaders, representatives from the police and fire department and residents all crowded into City Hall to hear City Administrator Mike Jessen give an overview of the plan.

Jessen emphasized that the plan is preliminary and can be changed. The council will vote on specific spending allocations at future meetings. 

The plan breaks spending into four categories: responding to the pandemic and its negative economic impacts; premium pay; compensation for city revenue loss, and costs associated with effective management of ARPA funds. 

Just under 10 residents spoke during the public hearing portion of the meeting. Most of the speakers said there was not enough opportunity for public comment, and multiple took issue with using ARPA funds to acquire land for the city's new park project. 

“This kind of discussion was necessary before a resolution was offered to the public," Duane Davison said. 

Councilman Robert Cotton, D-2, the council's sole "no" vote, said he wanted to have workshops and public discussions with citizens before crafting a plan. After the portal closed, the council received all the responses and met with Mayor Matt Murphy and Jessen to discuss ideas. Cotton said his meeting is scheduled for March 30 and that the planning process "has not been adequate."

Breaking it down

Seven local nonprofits were selected to receive funds: Respite House, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Northwestern Indiana, Hilltop Neighborhood House, Caring Place, Opportunity Enterprises, MAAC Foundation and Dressed for School. They will all receive various amounts totaling $575,000. A few organization representatives attended the meeting; many said the need for nonprofit services increased greatly during the pandemic. 

Premium pay will be available for current active full-time city employees who performed in-person work during the pandemic. The plan sets aside $600,000 for premium pay and explains that the highest amount will go toward first responders and employees "in similar functions." 

Under the U.S. Department of Treasury's Final Rule governing the implementation of ARPA funds, recipients may use the money to recoup city revenue loss. Valparaiso's plan puts about $6.5 million toward revenue loss "to provide services traditionally performed by government." About $4.7 million would go toward the parks department's recently announced "Valparaiso for all Generations" initiative.

The initiative consists of four pillars, including the creation of a new 248-acre park using farm land stretching from Vale Park Road on the south all the way to 500 North. While the project is still in the design stage, current plans include some sort of indoor sports complex, outdoor recreation fields, walking trails, playgrounds, a concession stand and natural areas.

The other three pillars are: maintaining the city's existing "Legacy Parks;" completing the new skate park at Fairgrounds Park; and creating an Adult Center for Enrichment, or ACE, at the former Whispering Pines Nursing Home. 

The ARPA money would reimburse the city's Redevelopment Commission for land purchased at 9 South State Road 2 and at 500 North. The plan also budgets an unknown amount of money for demolishing the existing Banta Senior Center at 3301 N. Calumet Ave., to ready the property for the ACE building. 

Helping those hurt most 

Many speakers shared that while they enjoy the city's park system, the wanted to see the majority of the ARPA funds go toward those most negatively impacted. 

"Frankly, the people most impacted by COVID were the poor people in this community,” said Paul Schreiner, Valparaiso resident and executive director of local nonprofit Project Neighbors. “For the most part, (low-income residents) did not know about the portal ... Valpo’s going to be just fine without that $6 million going to buy the land.”

Other speakers said environmental nonprofits and groups working on water quality issues should have been included. Councilman George Douglas, R-At-Large, said the "planning process is still unfolding" and that elements may change as the specific appropriations are voted on. 

Douglas, Councilman Jack Pupillo, R-4, and Councilman Casey Schmidt, R-3, all said the public comment process for the ARPA spending plan was not limited to the portal, that they had received feedback through emails, phone calls and in-person discussions. 

Schmidt also said he supports investing in the Valparaiso for all Generations initiative because as the city continues to grow, more parks will be needed. 

"I don’t like the thought that we didn’t do our due diligence, that we did not reach out to a lot of people,” Schmidt said. "I’m very pleased with this plan, I think it helps our city as a whole.”