Mayor outlines plan to spend $58.2 million in federal COVID funds

By Brendan Kirby

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    Mayor outlines plan to spend $58.2 million in federal COVID funds (WALA) — Bonuses for city workers, projects to address the negative impact of COVID-19, “equity-focused” services and high-speed internet dominate plans unveiled Tuesday to spend federal coronavirus relief funds.

The city of Mobile already has received $29.1 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress earlier this year, and will get another $29.1 million in May next year.

The centerpiece of the proposal is to hand out $5,000 bonuses to all full-time workers who were one the payroll between March 2020 and March of this year. Part-time workers would get $2,500 each. The total cost is projected to be $11.25 million.

The massive amount of money comes as Stimpson gears up for a re-election campaign this summer. It also comes after the city weathered the COVID-19 pandemic without significant damage to city coffers. In fact, Mobile does not even qualify for a federal spending provision aimed at replacing lost revenue to local governments.

“But even though the city fared well, there are many individuals and small businesses that did not fare well,” the mayor told reporters. “And so that’s really the focus of what this money should be spent on.”

The City Council would have to approve the spending proposal over the next several weeks. City Councilman Fred Richardson, who is challenging Stimpson in the mayor’s race, told FOX10 News that he would like to see more spending on infrastructure and housing in low-income areas.

“I saw nothing in there for infrastructure projects,” he said.

Richardson pointed to the Trinity Gardens community. He said the city has closed 14 of 44 open ditches. He said the city should spend some of the COVID money to close those ditches and pay for other stormwater drainage projects.

“Then you’re affecting neighborhoods. … We got federal funds coming in,” he said. “Why no address some of that while we have the funding? Because the city is not giving us any money for those ditches.”

The city’s deadline for reporting to the federal treasury how it intends to use the money is Aug. 13. Expenses would have to be incurred by December 2024, and the money would have to be spent by the end of 2026.

City Council members largely expressed support, particularly for the employee bonuses.

“I would hope we could complete this work and approve this well ahead of the Aug. 13 drop-dead deadline,” said Councilman Joel Daves, chairman of the Finance Committee.

The panel will meet again on June 29 to discuss the plan.

The mayor’s plan calls for spending almost $13.9 million on a variety of projects intended to help low-income residents: $2 million in small business assistance. $2.5 million in rental assistance. $4 million to help 400 families through 2026 make down payments – up to $10,000 – on house purchases. That will fund an existing program that serves 35 to 40 families a year. “We’ve run that program pretty successfully now,” said Jamey Roberts, the city’s senior director of urban development “But we’re limited by funding.” $1 million in utility assistance. $3 million in social services assistance. $1.35 million to promote tourism.

The administration also proposes spending a little more than $29 million on “equity” projects: $8 million to turn the old Gayfers building downtown into 94 affordable housing units. $4.1 million to build a road and other infrastructure to kickstart the redevelopment of the former Woodcock Elementary School into 20 houses. $16 million in rental assistance. Administration officials said this would compensate for a loss of public housing anticipated in the coming years as the Mobile Housing Board tears down the R.V. Taylor Plaza and Thomas James Place housing developments. $1 million for housing rehabilitation. This largely would pay for roof replacement for moderate- and low-income residents. City officials said 125 residents could benefit. For the mayor, the Gayfers project represents an opportunity to pull off a renovation that has been talked about for years.

“You’ve never been able to quite get to the amount of money that it costs to renovate. … What we have is a huge building that’s been vacant for almost 40 years that’s almost impossible to renovate economically,” he said. “Every year that it sits idle, the more it’s gonna cost for somebody to go in and renovate it. You know, so, it’s a great opportunity for use of this money.”

Richardson took issue with the Gayfers plan. He said that should be a commercial project and that city money should go toward building low-income housing in areas that have lost public housing.

“Gayfers is in a business district,” he said. “Got to residential neighborhoods.”

Also included in the mayor’s plan is $3 million to pay for broadband services to unserved and underserved areas. Richardson said he wants to ensure that broadband construction covers the city’s parks and recreation center. Stimpson told reporters that will “be part of the discussion” but added that details have not been finalized.

The final bit of spending in the plan includes more than $1 million to hire a pair of grant administrators and a grant accountant to keep track of the spending.

The $58.2 million does not include any funds from some $2.1 billion that the state is getting from the American Rescue Plan Act. City officials said it is not clear how much Mobile might get from that pot of money.

Daves said the federal funding would all the city to “address a number of items which have been sore spots for us for a long time.”

Councilwoman Gina Gregory praised the bonuses and suggested the council approve those before working out the details of the other programs.

“That’s something we’re all happy to see,” she said.

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