Kelly Sink of Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) last Monday told Freeburg trustees there are five categories allowed for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) expenditures. 

Freeburg, like most other municipalities with which Sink is working, is most interested in the infrastructure provisions. Water, sewer, and broadband are the areas in which the money can be spent.

Sink suggested if they have several ideas, those can be mixed and matched, and prioritized. 

Mayor Darryl Haller questioned whether painting the water tower would qualify as a reimbursable expense. Freeburg currently spends $12,000 per year for water tower maintenance. 

Sink stressed that the money is intended for new projects, not to supplant monies already committed to projects. If a contract is already in effect, that money has already been allocated and would not be “new” unless the contract was expiring. A bidding process would then be required. 

“What if we want to fix an existing water line …maybe 300 yards … would we have to have engineering done and what about prevailing wage?” Haller asked. 

Sink said that projects under $75,000 do not require prevailing wage at the state level and ARPA funds are not subject to federal prevailing wage either but the procurement process must be followed. 

A regular full-time employee doing the work cannot be reimbursed since he is already being paid. However, a part-time employee putting in additional hours on the project would qualify. Also, a contractor outside the city’s employ would have to be properly procured with bids collected rather than “just calling the local guy.”

As far as road repairs, Sink says they are not included in the interim rule but could be a part of the final rule. As it is, roads directly affected by a water or sewer project could be repaved as a part of that project.

Any construction work would have to be contracted by the end of 2024 but the contractor would have until the end of 2026 to complete the work.

Freeburg has not yet received its 50% of the $85,000 allocated to the village, having only signed the contract at their last meeting on Sept. 13. The money will go into the general revenue account and will be transferred to a separate fund for easier tracking. 

Another area in which Freeburg could use the money would be premium pay for essential workers. With Street/Water/Sewer Commissioner Todd Feeler leaving, his position will be hard to fill with a certified operator. 

Premium pay for that or any other position can be increased up to $13 per hour from March 3, 2022, through 2024 with a maximum of $25,000 per employee. That would have to be publicly available with a written justification. 

Payment to MRPC for its hours can also be included in the allowable expenses.

Sink reassured trustees that if they took the money and did not find a way to use it, it could be returned to the state. 

“At this point”, she said, “We are encouraging everybody to say, ‘yeah, we want it.’”

Village Clerk Allen Gradel and Trustee Scott Knoll were also at the informal meeting.