Waitsfield has created an ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Committee to solicit input from community members and organizations on how the town should spend the $506,081 it received from the federal COVID relief program.
The current members of the committee include select board chair Christine Sullivan, Brian Voigt of the planning commission, conservation commissioner Leo Laferriere, road commissioner Charlie Goodman, architect Mac Rood and select board member Jordan Gonda is the select board alternate.
Town administrator Annie Decker-Dell’Isola said that two more members are needed on the committee and said that business owners would be very welcome.
The committee is meeting on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Meetings will be hybrid with both an in-person option at the town office and a Zoom link.
“The ARPA Committee would like to understand how the community would like to see Waitsfield's ARPA funds spent. The ARPA Committee website has a form that can be filled out with project ideas, or anyone is welcome to reach out to me via phone or email anytime to share their thoughts,”Decker-Del’Isola said.
“This is the message we've put on the website, "The Waitsfield ARPA Committee would like to hear from the community about ways that they think the town's ARPA funding may best be spent. The overall intent of the ARPA funding is to support pandemic recovery, maintain vital public services, and make investments in the community that will support long-term growth and opportunity for years to come,” she noted.
The first meeting was held last week and minutes will soon be available.
Decker-Dell’Isola can be reached at
