LYNN — Residents and business owners have been submitting responses to the city’s online survey about American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funded projects.
Mayor Jared Nicholson said more people are responding every day, with more than 200 respondents in the month of February alone. Nicholson said this is not the only method that has garnered responses from the public.
“We have used email and social media and we still have some time,” Nicholson said. “We have the survey in five languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and Khmer.”
Nicholson said there will also be a paper version of the survey available at upcoming in-person community meetings related to the American Rescue Plan Act.
Per the mayor’s office, the online survey will remain active until March 31.
The survey about ARPA funds is part of a large outreach effort from the mayor and the City Council to businesses and residents in Lynn to educate and ask for input on policy areas.
Per the survey, these areas of focus are COVID public-health measures, mental-health assistance, substance-abuse grants, improvement projects, mortgage support, rental relief, utility assistance, improved broadband and public Wi-Fi, water-main replacements, wastewater upgrades, stormwater enhancements, roadway and sidewalk improvements, public-safety facilities and equipment, upgrades to existing parks, a creation of a pocket park, increases in natural “green” spaces, and construction improvements and upgrades to school buildings throughout Lynn.
The responses received so far are in written and online form. The ARPA team will look at the data once the surveys are completed and learn where the interests of residents and business owners are.
“There was not a specific numeric goal for the number of respondents,” Nicholson said. “It’s going to take some time to analyze the data once the online survey is done.”
The city will have $58 million out of the $75 million in received funds to use on these areas. Of those funds, $13.5 million is being allocated to improve HVAC systems throughout public buildings in Lynn; $500,000 is being allocated to purchase rapid COVID antigen test kits, and $3 million is being allocated to the Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Lynn (EDIC/Lynn) for small-business relief grants.
Following the online survey, Nicholson said the next phase will involve in-person community meetings for more input and then a review of the data collected to figure out how much support and interest the areas received. In the spring, projects will be proposed to the Lynn ARPA team based on the information they received from the survey and in-person community meetings. A second proposal period will take place later in the year.
Additionally, Nicholson said ward councilors will play a role in overseeing and helping projects located in their respective ward.
“We want to break the process down into these phases to make it accessible,” Nicholson explained.
Councilor-at-Large and council liaison for ARPA funding Brian Field explained that the funds need to first be approved by the Ways and Means Committee and then the entire City Council before they can be used for any projects. He said that he and the rest of the council have been in regular contact with Nicholson and his team, who have provided updates and timelines for projects. As for the survey, Field said it has been a success as well.
“My colleagues on the City Council and I are excited about the opportunity to engage with the community and appreciate everyone’s input,” Field said. “We are glad everything is moving forward with the mayor, his staff and everyone involved.”
