American Rescue Plan Act Advisory Committee — Charleston, WV
Date: 2021-04-14
Time: 17:00

CITY OF CHARLESTON
 West Virginia




 AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

 - AGENDA -

 Wednesday, April 14, 2021
 5:00 P.M.
 THIS MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE IN PERSON AND CAN BE VIWED LIVE VIA ZOOM
 THE RECORDING WILL LATER BE MADE AVALIABLE ON CHARLESTONWV.CIVICCLERK.COM
 Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, West Hall 1
 Charleston, WV
*Join via internet: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83905584423?pwd=NGYvakVPR2tEQ0ZZYnBTenFSUDVTQT09
Passcode: 818010
Or Telephone: 301-715-8592 or 312-626-6799
Webinar ID: 839 0558 4423


 I. DISCUSSION:

 1. Overview of the American Rescue Plan Act.

 i. Role of U.S. Treasury guidance.

 ii. Mandatory federal reporting requirements.

 iii. Mandatory state reporting requirements (State Auditor’s Office).

 2. Anticipated timeline for City to receive funds from U.S. Treasury.

 3. Proposed framework for budgeting funds based on issue categorization.

 4. Proposed subcommittee structure and citizen participation.

 5. Discuss next steps.


 City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330
 www.charlestonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax
 Page 1 of 2
6. Set next meeting.

7. Adjourn.




City Council | 501 Virginia Street, East | Post Office Box 2749 | Charleston, West Virginia 25330
 www.charlestonwv.gov | 304.348.8179 | 304.348.8038 fax
 Page 2 of 2

MINUTES
 AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
 WEST HALL 1, CHARLESTON COLISEUM AND CONVENTION CENTER
 (THE VIDEO WAS ALSO MADE AVAILABLE AS A LIVE STREAM VIA ZOOM PER THE AGENDA)

 5:00 P. M., APRIL 14, 2021

Mayor Amy Goodwin, Chairperson, called the meeting of the Charleston City American
Rescue Plan Act Advisory Committee to order at 5:00p.m., April 14, 2021.

Committee Members Present:
Mayor Amy Goodwin, Chair
Becky Ceperley, Vice Chair
Ben Adams (arrived at 5:14)
John Kennedy Bailey
Brent Burton
Caitlin Cook
Mary Beth Hoover
Joe Jenkins
Will Laird (attended virtually over Zoom)
Bobby Reishman
Chad Robinson

Also Present:
Miles Cary II, City Clerk


A roll call was taken, and it was determined that a quorum was present.


 1. Overview of the American Rescue Plan Act –

Mayor Goodwin stated that the initial members of the Committee were chosen to
represent Committees that would most likely be involved (Finance, Environment and
Recycling and Parks and Recreation). The money from the act is an investment to
change communities. The Mayor added that this money has never been placed in the
City of Charleston to work on projects.

City Manager, Jonathan Storage, presented information about the Plan Act to the
Committee. Highlights include:
  The ARP is one of the largest pieces of spending legislation ever passed by
 Congress.
  It’s main focused is around economic recovery as well as infrastructure and
 social safety net projects.
  The City of Charleston’s allocation is estimated at approximately $38 million, and


 March 25, 2021
 must be used by December 31, 2024.
  The 1st distribution will be approximately $19 million.
  The US Treasury is tasked with developing rules and guidance on how to spend
 the funds.
  The ARP will allow the City to spend fund in 2 areas designed to address the
 pandemic’s health and economic consequences: respond to the public health
 emergency and address COVID’s negative economic impacts.
  The City may offer “premium pay” to essential workers (which may include
 private employers who employ them) as well as reimburse itself for revenue
 losses.
  The City is permitted to reimburse itself for revenue losses suffered compared to
 the previous revenues received, however, depending on the guidance from the
 Treasury, this area of financial recovery may be limited.
  The Act allows for necessary investments in water, sewer or broadband
 infrastructure.

Mayor Goodwin added that this should be about investment money, not simply filling
holes. They need to identify significant infrastructure projects. There is also an
opportunity to apply for additional money separately with the federal government for
“earmarked money” or different buckets that doesn’t necessarily have to come out of the
ARP money. The City could also partner with other authorities, such as non-profits,
public benefit corporations, etc.
  Possible buckets for economic recovery: reimburse/replenish revenues, b&o,
 hotel/motel, eliminate any deficit FY 2022 and funds to offset
 demolition/construction permits/ business permits/ fees
  Possible buckets for healthy and safe communities: food insecurity, health
 equity, youth programs, homelessness, substance abuse disorder, low barrier
 and temporary shelters, additional housing options, mobile outreach
  Possible buckets for investing for the future/infrastructure is probably the
 most important piece, and will be discussed further.



 2. Further Discussion –

Councilmember Jenkins suggested bringing broadband to everyone in the City. He also
raised the question if they should act on projects such as this if they could possibly get
some grant money for it in the future. Mayor Goodwin added that it will also be
important to coordinate projects with the County.

Councilmember Ceperley stated that the storm water system is outdated and causes a
lot of problems. Storage added that with the timelines involved, it would also be
advisable to have projects that have been researched and are essentially ready to go. It
would be important to start soon on completely new projects. Councilmember Bailey
added that when making their list of projects, it will be important to track which projects
could be potentially funded by other means (grants etc) as that becomes available.


 March 25, 2021
Councilmember Adams stated that, in terms of community involvement, here-to-serve
type meetings would be invaluable. Mayor Goodwin added that the intention is to reach
every community. Councilmember Cook stated there should be a structure in which
community members could voice their opinions on the City’s website, such as an online
survey/drop-down box for public engagement. Councilmember Ceperley suggested they
should provide structure for the community engagement as there are many guidelines
and restrictions to the ARP money. Councilmember Reishman suggested projects that
will provide funding for future projects. The Mayor suggested keeping some sort of file
for all of the suggestions etc. that the Committee could access.

Councilmember Jenkins suggested that the economic recovery bucket be given first
priority (hotel/motel tax recovery, replace lost revenue, etc.), then they could look at how
to use the rest of the money. He added that the main goal would be to essentially
balance the books. Then, other aspects of economic recovery, such as small
businesses could be looked into.

Councilmember Cook asked what have they been able to learn from other cities. Mayor
Goodwin replied that the plans/responses from other cities have been extremely varied,
adding that some involved public input and some didn’t. Councilmember Reishman
stated that they should receive some sort of formal plan or application when looking at
specific programs/non-profits/etc. to fund. Mayor Goodwin suggested taking chunks of
the fund to dedicate to certain buckets (for example, $2 million for community projects).

Councilmember Ceperley suggested having a visual board at the listening sessions that
citizens can place suggestions on based on the buckets. Councilmember Burton
suggested getting the Youth Council involved. Councilmember Bailey added that he
would like to see the estimated costs of the projects that have already been discussed
or studied (turfing the fields, fixing bridges, etc.). Storage added that the ARP funds
could potentially free up money from the General Fund that would have otherwise been
used for those things. He added that the ARP funds can be used as matching money for
grants. Councilmember Hoover added that there are gaps in the kids/youth programs.
City Clerk, Miles Cary, added that he would like to see a program directed at felon re-
entry.

Councilmember Ceperley cautioned against focusing on specific projects at this time.
Councilmember Jenkins agreed, adding that useful public feedback wouldn’t be for
specific things, but rather what their preferred focus would be. He added that it would be
helpful for the Committee to determine if they want to do 1 or 3 large projects or spread
it over many smaller, etc. They could then determine the range of money spent over
each category to get public input.



 3. Next Steps –

Mayor Goodwin summarized that the number 1 focus of the ARP is the recovery of lost



 March 25, 2021
funds to cities, so the Administration could present their findings on how to best achieve
that to the Committee. The Committee can then decide what other buckets on which to
focus. Councilmember Ceperley stated they should keep the buckets as they have been
presented, and to give general ideas as to what would fall under those categories (not
particular projects). Councilmember Jenkins suggested they reference the projects that
the City already has plans for (the bike and trail plan, for example). Councilmember
Bailey suggested having another Committee meeting before the community meetings.

Mayor Goodwin stated that the easiest thing they could do would be to create the online
forum and host the community meetings. They will get the information from citizens that
want to be engaged in the process. Councilmember Adams felt they had an obligation
to at least review all suggestions submitted to the City. Mayor Goodwin stated that they
also needed to include representatives from groups (LGBTQ+, homeless outreach, the
Partnership for African American Churches, etc.) in the discussion so that they can act
with intention. Councilmember Hoover suggested having smaller round-table
discussions with those community/group leaders. Mayor Goodwin suggested that each
Member submit 2 names for that.

Councilmember Jenkins asked if it would be more effective to spread out the money
over many projects, or stick to a large impact project. He expressed concern that they
were going to get bogged down by hundreds of ideas. Councilmember Ceperley added
that she did not believe they should have organizations apply for the money, adding that
once the Committee has set its goals then can request further information from the
various groups. Mayor Goodwin agreed that there should be a return on investment.
Storage added that the purpose of the money is to create economic recovery in
whatever way is most impactful to the City. Councilmember Cook added that they also
need to know when they will start to spend the first round of funding. Councilmembers
Robinson and Jenkins agreed with Councilmember Ceperley, adding that they should
gather the interested issues as opposed to specific projects. Chief of Staff, Matt Sutton,
added that they could also help organizations identify where else (grants etc.) they can
obtain additional funding.




Councilmember Reishman motioned to adjourn the meeting. Councilmember Ceperley
seconded.

Meeting adjourned.



 March 25, 2021