WEST LEBANON — Upper Valley communities are on track to receive more than $15 million in federal aid that is intended to help municipalities replace revenue lost to the coronavirus pandemic or boost local infrastructure.
First payments from the Local Fiscal Recovery Fund hit the bank accounts of Vermont towns and cities last week, around the same time that applications were being finalized in New Hampshire.
Municipal officials say the money — coming from Congress’ $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act — will allow them to reverse cost-cutting measures that became commonplace during this year’s Town Meeting season.
Many said Monday that they plan to use the funds to pay for costly water and sewer projects, while others celebrated the ability to replenish depleted rainy day funds.
“This will be a tremendous relief for taxpayers,” predicted Enfield Interim Town Manager Jack Wozmak.
Enfield is expected to get almost $500,000 in aid over the next two years, which will help the town pay off about $3.8 million in sewer and water projects approved by voters in March.
The money, Wozmak said, should help to shorten a 30-year bond that Enfield sought to replace aging wells, water lines and sewer mains.
Meanwhile, neighboring Canaan also plans to use most of its $408,000 in federal relief on infrastructure.
Town Administrator Mike Samson said that about $360,000 of that allotment will go toward the construction of a new water main that would run from Water Street to the village.
Samson said the roughly $1 million effort was initially funded with about $60,000 in town savings and a $550,000 loan. With the addition of federal funds, he said, town officials finally feel comfortable moving forward with the project.
Canaan and Enfield are both expected to receive more funds than most Upper Valley communities, with grants in the region ranging anywhere from roughly $32,000 to $1.4 million, based on 2019 population estimates.
Lebanon, the region’s largest community, will receive that top figure, followed by Claremont ($1.3 million), Hanover ($1.2 million) and Hartford ($1 million).
Officials in those communities said they’re not yet sure what the money will ultimately pay for, but they’re already soliciting ideas from department heads and elected officials.
Lebanon City Manager Shaun Mulholland said he hopes to spend about $165,000 on operations at the city’s pool and summer camp program, both of which closed last year.
Another $46,000 would go to the Upper Valley Business Alliance, which helped Lebanon distribute personal protective equipment, and $30,000 could be used to build lockers outside City Hall for those who want to pick up items without having to come into the building.
But, Mulholland said, he’s waiting for more guidance before making a suggestion on the majority of Lebanon’s funding. Depending on what rules the U.S. Treasury crafts, he said, the city could devote money to trails in West Lebanon or a water project on Miracle Mile.
The aid program’s existing rules say that municipalities can use payments to pay essential workers, make up for lost revenue and pay for water, sewer and broadband projects.
Unlike other grant programs, towns and cities don’t need to get approval before spending money, but they do have to file reports detailing expenses. Which must be spent by 2026.
Hanover Town Manager Julia Griffin said her town’s Selectboard hasn’t made any decisions on the payments, but they’ve “got any number of options available to us.”
Those include depositing the money into Hanover’s surplus funds, which were drawn down to cover losses in parking and investment revenue, Griffin said.
Some in town also hope to use the money to expand broadband to more rural areas of Hanover, which are either without high-speed internet or underserved by current providers, she said.
“I’m going to urge the board just to sit tight because, as we get more information from the federal government and as the state decides what it’s going to do with its (grant) money, that might impact our decisions,” Griffin said.
Town managers in Claremont, Norwich and Hartford also said they’re waiting for similar moves before making formal recommendations on how to spend their aid.
But for Newport, N.H., Town Manager Hunter Rieseberg, the decision to allocate the funds was more cut and dry. His community plans to spend its $655,000 on a 40-year old sewer pump station that’s broken down several times.
The pump, he said, transports wastewater from the eastern side of Newport to its treatment plant, supporting most of the town’s businesses.
“If it were to fail and overflow, it would not only stop providing pump service to that side of town but also be at risk of contaminating the Sugar River,” Rieseberg warned.
He added that the federal aid will allow for construction earlier than the town was expecting, while also saving ratepayers from having to pick up much of the cost.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.