Extension eases application crunch for municipalities seeking pandemic relief

Some area municipalities were scrambling this week to submit applications for federal pandemic relief funding, with an initial deadline looming Wednesday.

They got a break from that crunch when officials extended that deadline by a month.

The state Department of Community and Economic Development “started urging municipalities to apply as soon as possible once the (American Rescue Plan Act) funding was available just after Memorial Day,” department spokesman Casey Smith said Tuesday, noting email blasts, letters and postcards were used to reach out to communities.

“We did just receive notice of an extension from the U.S. Department of Treasury, which will extend the deadline to disburse all funds by another 30 days.” Smith said. “We still encourage all municipalities that have not yet applied – around 500 municipalities right now – to apply as soon as possible and not delay in requesting their funds.

“Municipalities that do not apply will not face any penalties or repercussions. They simply will not be able to access the funding available.”

There were 18 municipalities in Westmoreland County that had not completed submissions on Friday. That number was trimmed to seven by Tuesday, as county officials made efforts to keep the communities from missing out on nearly $2.5 million combined available to them through ARPA.

County Commissioner Doug Chew brought the issue to light late Monday in a statement to local media. County officials followed up on Tuesday by contacting the municipalities that had yet to apply, according to county Planning Director Jason Rigone.

“Our assistance is just making them aware there is a deadline,” said Rigone. “Based on the responses, a lot are in the process of applying.”

That was the case in West Leechburg, where paperwork details bogged down the borough’s application, according to council Vice President Tim Grantz.

Grantz said Tuesday the borough began the process of applying for up to $127,801 in ARPA funding about a month earlier. “We did apply,” he said. “We went through the procedure and got hung up by an extra form they wanted notarized.”

The form, he said, related to the borough having a bank account set up to receive the money. The document initially was rejected and had to be completed again, Grantz said, because the municipality’s name didn’t appear in the preferred format.

He said the borough eventually was advised to “just submit the whole application with the form, even if it’s not approved.”

Federal guidelines call for ARPA dollars to be spent within two years, with limitations on how counties and municipalities can the use the money. Broadband upgrades, water and sewer projects and reimbursements for expenses related to the covid-19 pandemic are among the allowed uses.

Grantz said sewer line replacements are among potential uses West Leechburg has discussed, but council has yet to make a decision.

Westmoreland County has banked the first half of the $105 million in ARPA funds it is slated to receive and already has spent more than $300,000.

County Finance Director Meghan McCandless said about $257,000 of the grant was used to cover training and wages for judges of elections and poll workers during the May 18 primary. Additional funds were used to purchase face masks for the county jail, covid-19 testing and vaccine clinic signs.

Early plans call for the county to use some of the pandemic-relief funds to modernize and install new technology in the commissioners’ public meeting room at the courthouse and to expand broadband services throughout the county, McCandless said.

Commissioner Sean Kertes said the county is expected to award additional grants to nonprofit agencies and small businesses and is exploring other major capital improvements.

“We were told by our lobbyists to sit on the money until we get an idea from the feds if there will be a loosening of how the money can be spent,” Kertes said.

Irwin Borough Manager Shari Martino said she was told that community was mistakenly listed among municipalities that had failed to submit ARPA applications.

Martino said she successfully submitted a notarized letter confirming that she is authorized to set up an account for the $391,000 Irwin is to receive. But there was a delay, she said, suggesting that the process may have been slowed by the fact that the borough has had three different managers in the past five years.

Supervisor Kerry Jobe said Salem’s application for $671,662 was completed Tuesday morning, when needed signatures were affixed.

Jobe said the township plans to tap the ARPA grant to make up for a drop in local revenue. Stormwater and sewage projects are being considered.

“I’m interested in what projects the state and county plan on doing with their money, so we can look at the big picture, or possibly combine efforts with a bordering municipality on a joint infrastructure project,” Jobe said. “Once the guidelines are finalized and the money hits our account, we’ll feel better about project selection.”

Chew has suggested “the county and the local municipalities could build synergies by combining funds for maximum impact. I can’t believe our mutual constituents couldn’t benefit from improved broadband or improvements to sewage or water infrastructure.”

Among Allegheny County municipalities that were late in completing ARPA applications, Elizabeth Township was seeking the largest grant, in excess of $1.3 million.

Township manager Greg Butler said Tuesday the application was partially completed, as he waited for an identifying number for the required bank account.

“A lot is involved in the application,” he said, expressing hope that it would be completed by the end of the day on Wednesday.

He said township officials had not begun to discuss how the money might be used.