Franklin officials released details on their plan to spend $5.7 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.
ARPA is a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package that delivered direct relief to Americans and distributed billions to states to respond to the pandemic and to give to cities, towns and counties to respond to the pandemic.
Indiana officials distributed $1.28 billion to communities, including $5.7 million to the city of Franklin. So far, Franklin has received about half of that money and expects to receive the remainder sometime this spring, said Jayne Rhoades, clerk-treasurer.
ARPA was passed into law on March 11. Since then, Franklin officials have been coming up with ways to spend the money per the requirements of the bill.
The money can be used for five main purposes: responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency, responding to negative economic impacts of the emergency, providing premium pay to employees, off-setting lost government revenue, and upgrading water, sewer or broadband infrastructure.
Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett and city department heads introduced a spending plan to the Franklin City Council on Monday, along with an appropriation request for the $2.8 million the city has received to date.
The proposal includes plans to complete three major projects, one that is a direct result of the pandemic, and two that were existing infrastructure problems but exacerbated by the pandemic. The projects include a $3 million wastewater infrastructure project, a $1.1 million remodeling project at Franklin Fire Station No. 21 and a $1.5 million remodeling project at Franklin Parks and Recreation’s Active Adult Center.
Wastewater screening facility
It would have been nice to have a wastewater screening building prior to the pandemic, but an increase in non-biodegradable waste experienced during the pandemic made it a necessity, said Sally Brown, Franklin’s wastewater superintendent.
The $3 million screening building will be designed to filter out waste, such as disposable wipes, single-use masks and feminine products, that should not be flushed down a toilet, Brown said. The wastewater facility uses bacteria to break down waste, but cannot break down plastic, rubber or metal objects.
That waste has to be manually picked out of pumps at the city’s wastewater facility, and lead to some costly repairs when they get stuck and clog up pumps. Building the facility will free up employees who are constantly pulled away from their other duties to unclog pumps and save on ongoing repair costs, she said.
Station No. 21
The fire station renovations have been needed for years, city officials say.
Station No. 21 was built in 1974, so city officials have been looking at upgrading it for years. The need for an upgrade became especially apparent during the pandemic, as the station still has a single sleeping room and outdated ventilation system, said Matt Culp, fire chief.
With a single sleeping room, small living quarters and the need for four or five firefighters to be on a truck together, social distancing was basically impossible. Across the city, but especially at that fire station, leadership was especially mindful about COVID-19 precautions to make up for the constraints of the small space, Culp said.
The plan is to upgrade the station’s HVAC system, and create single-occupancy sleeping rooms and an additional shower facility, he said.
Active Adult Center
Since COVID-19 was most deadly to people ages 60 and older, the rooms where hundreds of seniors would gather each day at Franklin’s Active Adult Center were empty for several months.
Attendance still has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, said Chip Orner, parks director. Before the pandemic, there were about 500 active members at the center. Today, it’s about half that, he said.
The need to make the facility safer for seniors and more capable of accommodating social distancing during events makes renovations at the center a priority, Orner said.
He and his staff examined needs at the facility and made a wish list for renovations and programming. The list carries a much higher price tag than $1.5 million, but parks staff are prioritizing it to fit the price tag, he said.
Renovations will be centered around HVAC and optimizing current spaces through remodeling projects. The remodel is being designed around current and future programming, Orner said.
The ARPA spending plan is available to view on the city’s website. The public can comment on the plan at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 at Franklin City Hall.
