Soledad staff proposes ARPA reallocations and scales back facade grants amid deadlines

City finance staff presented an ARPA status update and a recommended reallocation plan as the city seeks to avoid leaving federal funds unspent.

Mike, the finance director, told the council the city received $6.285 million under ARPA and had spent about $3.4 million through March. Staff proposed repurposing some ARPA allocations toward projects that can be completed quickly or are already under contract — including a corporation yard modular office, community center kitchen and HVAC upgrades, a fire apparatus update, and a connected license‑plate reader camera program for the 101 corridor. Staff recommended pausing or pulling back ARPA allocations for some façade and small business grant awards because many recipients had not started work and the projects risked missing federal deadlines. Finance also noted an available $10 million exclusion that gives the city more flexibility but still requires legal commitment to extend spending deadlines.

Several small business owners and applicants said they had completed paperwork and waited months for decisions. Economic development director Canute Yang acknowledged staffing constraints and said the department would notify applicants and propose a revamped, more strategic façade program for council consideration. Council approved the recommended reallocations and directed staff to provide transparent lists of pending awards and proposed next steps for the façade program.