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10282021 BB ARPA 3rd draft min (2) µ CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH Department of Economic Development and Strategy d American Rescue Plan Act Public Input Meeting Thursday, October 28, 2021 6:00 p.m. Fire Station #2 3501 N. Congress Avenue I. Opening and Introductions The meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m. Carisse LeJeune, Interim Facilities Director, welcomed attendees and introduced herself and noted she has been working on ARPA for the City since March 2021. II. Power Point Presentation Ms. LeJeune presented information about the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The ARPA was signed into law on March 11, 2021. The U.S. Treasury Department established four objectives to make funds available.The funding objectives were to support urgent COVID-19 response(vaccine programs, cost of staffing and equipment, supplies, and information technology); replace lost revenue for eligible state, local, territorial, and tribal governments; immediate economic stabilization for businesses and households; and address the systematic public health and economic challenges created by the pandemic. ARPA (Bill 1319) provides $350 billion in funding for states, counties, municipalities, and tribes and territories. Boynton Beach is an entitlement city based on qualified census tracks. The U.S. Treasury allocated $13.6 million in funding to the City of Boynton Beach in two parts. The first part allocated was $6,823,952 and was received on May 19, 2021. The second deposit will be received by May 2022. The Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR), outlining the rules and regulations for spending the funds. There are five specific categories that make up the spending framework: Support public health expenditures for COVID-19; address the negative economic impact caused by the public health emergency; provide aid to communities and populations hardest hit by the crisis; replace the lost public sector revenue (Premium Pay); and invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure. The City will distribute the funds based on the categories and identified needs and negative impacts. The City has been referring to these categories as the five buckets. Ms. LeJeune stated the City will determine the funding amounts in each category based on projects and services that are identified with the greatest needs. There is no definitive amount determined for each of the buckets. Funding can be used to support revenue loss, which will address the impact of the City's ability to provide vital public services such as Police, Fire, EMS, and Sewer and Water. In orderto support public health expenditures, funding can be used forCOVID-19 mitigation and containment services including vaccinations, testing, contract tracing, and prevention in key settings (churches, schools, local businesses, etc.) Additionally, the funds can be used to meet behavioral health, including mental health and substance abuse needs. Funding can also be used to cover staffing, provided they worked on the COVID-19 response. To address negative economic impact, the funding can provide assistance with food, housing, utilities, internet access, job training, and other needs. The U.S. Treasury identified some of the most impacted industries were entertainment, restaurants, and hotels. The City wants to provide equity-focused services and will be taking into consideration populations that have been disproportionately affected. For workers and families, the City can assist with job training, food assistance, housing, utilities, and other financial needs. For tourism, travel, and hospitality, the City can help with local economic conditions in order to re-open and take COVID-19 precautions. Ms. LeJeune also noted Boynton Beach has a large senior population with both Boynton and Palm Beach Leisureville and the City can add this population as those who were disproportionately affected. The City can use the funding to address health and education disparities, promote healthy childhood environments, and affordable housing needs. The City can also utilize the funding to invest in large-scale water, sewer, broadband infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Broadband infrastructure funding is designed to provide service to the unserved and underserved households and businesses. The infrastructure would reliably meet or exceed symmetrical upload and download speeds of 100 mbps, achieve last mile connections, and offer affordability options. Ms. LeJeune outlined Premium Pay as the last of the five buckets, which is providing enhanced compensation to essential City workers. The U.S. Treasury Department has developed the definition of an essential worker, which are those in critical infrastructure sectors who regularly perform in-person work, interact with others, or physically handle items that have been handled by others. The IFR also emphasized the need for the City to prioritize Premium Pay for lower income workers. Premium Pay can also be provided retroactively for essential work performed during the pandemic. Mara Frederiksen, Director of Finance, provided an update on the funds received to date. She reiterated that approximately $6.8 million in funding was received in May 2021 and the remaining $6.8 million will be received in May 2022. She reviewed a few projects that have been funded. The first project was a housing study that was conducted for approximately $29,600. The second project was a two-week tutoring program for 4t" graders, and it cost approximately $28,000. She noted $67,000 was spent on a wellness program for Police and Fire, which included mental health and wellness support. She mentioned the City anticipated spending $500,000 on a partnership effort with the CRA but ultimately did not. There was approximately $60,000 spent on a vaccine gift card incentive for the public. She explained there were also revenue losses of$1.95 million from March 2020-September 2020. The City partnered with the County to provide rental assistance and allocated approximately $75,000 to fund a position through Pathways to Prosperity. The position will help administer the rental assistance for Boynton Beach. The $75,000 has not yet been expended so it is indicated in red on the presentation. Additionally, there is a Fire, Police, and General Employee vaccine incentive totaling $400,000. She noted that is dependent on which employees decide to get vaccinated before November 15, 2021. After that date, final expenditures will be finalized. She also shared the anticipated revenue losses of approximately $3 million, but she has not calculated final numbers. Once finalized, it will be included in the FY23 City budget. Ms. Frederiksen noted Wells Landing is a 124-unit affordable housing project, but it has not been approved by the Commission yet. The Board has approved Premium Pay of $1,000 this year and $1,000 next year for employees and staff, the total of which is approximately $1.59 million. She confirmed that has not yet been funded. Wi-Fi in the parks is another expenditure of approximately $600,000 and is a project that has come through the Commission. That amount would be expended over the next few years. Project and administrative costs to administer that program would total approximately $150,000. Ms. Frederiksen stated approximately $3.6 million remains of the $13 million funding. Ms. LeJeune stressed the importance of gathering public input for transparency and accountability. She shared the City is responsible for assessing and determining whether a program or service responds to the specific criteria based on the U.S. Treasury Department's guidelines. The first step is to identify the need or negative impact. She stressed it is important to collect as many citizen surveys as possible. The second step is to identify how a program, service or intervention addresses the need or negative impact. The third step is to find state, community partners, or agencies to assist the City with programs, services, or interventions. Ms. LeJeune shared the City has recently partnered with Long Beach County to provide emergency rental assistance. Ms. LeJeune encouraged everyone to complete the community survey. The survey is available in English, Spanish, and Creole. The survey can be accessed on the City website, Facebook, Instagram, or via the QR code. Hard copies of the survey can also be found at the Library and staff are available to help any person complete it. Ms. LeJeune explained this is the second public meeting. The first public meeting was a hybrid meeting held on September 30. They will also be meeting with the nonprofits on November 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the Commission chambers. It is a public meeting and will also be available virtually. After the information is compiled, it will be brought to a City Commission workshop, open to the public, on December 7 from 3:30 — 5:00 p.m. in the Commission chambers. The workshop will be offered in-person or virtually. The City has also been conducting outreached through PSAs in English, Haitian, and Spanish radio, through newsletters, and all social media outlets. Additional information is available on the City's website www.boynton-beach.org/arpa, by calling 561-742-6014, or emailing arpa@bbfl.us. III. Public Comments & Questions Ms. LeJeune opened the floor for any questions, comments, or suggestions. She introduced Mr. David Scott, Director of Economic Development and Strategy, who reiterated the importance of community outreach and identifying the greatest need. He noted they collected quite a few surveys in a number of different ways. Marit Hedeen, owner of Butcher & The Bar, shared her restaurant struggles. She noted they opened too later in order to qualify for government funding. They retained all their employees and did not lay anyone off. She shared they took on increased expenses including moving staff from hourly to salary, purchasing a vaporizer, and masks for staff. Although the government fast- tracked loans for woman-owned businesses, Ms. Hedeen only owns 49% of the business so they did not qualify. She expressed support of what the City is trying to do to support small businesses. She recommends the City helps support the downtown through advertising, promotion, or something to drive people to businesses. Mr. Scott responded the importance of supporting businesses and even outside of the ARPA funding, they are currently working on their next round of City grant funding. The grants are currently being written and are not posted yet. Their intention is to make those grants more expansive and include areas such as marketing. Ms. Hedeen explained it is hard to stay abreast of the opportunities when someone is trying to run a business. Ms. LeJeune encouraged Ms. Hedeen to complete the survey and share with other business owners, particularly the fishing industry, which was also a hard hit industry. Annette Gray, a local business owner, discussed mental health and employment and how many people began to consider whether their jobs continued to be a good fit for them. She noted the statistic of 30% of employees calling in sick post-COVID. She outlined how the City needs to create a new excitement for working and the benefits of being part of the workforce. She suggests people will want to return to businesses that treat people well, particularly the younger workforce. She also stressed addressing the mental health challenges of the workforce. Ms. Gray also noted the tactile learners fell behind during the pandemic, including performing artists and there needs to be more focus on experiential learning. Finally, she suggested a focus on entrepreneurship for young people. She noted how many young people are starting businesses, including being an influencer on social media platforms. Mark Karageorge, Community Standards Specialist, shared the Marina did not lose tenants but many of the businesses there are hurting. Many of the businesses have been there since the Marina opened and are the backbone of that area. Mr. Karageorge urged the City to reach out to Brian Smith, Dockmaster, and he will get the word out to those businesses to complete the survey or provide feedback He said the Marina brings in approximately $100,000 profit forthe CRA annually. He strongly encouraged the City to support the Marina businesses. He shared his experience seeing the long lines at the food distribution pickup and how that demonstrates people are still hurting. Ms. Gray emphasized the money is not as important as a coalition of vetted consultants with pre-negotiated prices for small businesses to talk to. She confirmed she's been working with the SBA for years. Mr. Scott continued to encourage people to complete the survey and to prioritize any industry that has been hardest hit. He confirmed the next Boynton Beach small business meeting is on November 8, so there is still time to push to have people complete the surveys. Ms. Gray expressed that sometimes surveys don't always make the point. Mr. Scott acknowledged they are not necessarily looking for a particular number of surveys received, rather, specific issues outlined in the feedback. He encouraged her to gather a coalition of ideas or consolidate overall opinions and confirmed they are also keeping a database of all information coming in, including any emails received. Ms. Gray noted interacting with the younger generation and all the entrepreneurship opportunities they are pursing and how the City can support. IV. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:11 p.m. [Minutes prepared by T. Baclawski, Prototype, Inc.]