City of Lowell Recovery Plan

About the City of Lowell's Recovery Plan

The City of Lowell received two separate ARPA funding allocations from the US Treasury to assist the city with its recovery plan.  This funding total is $76,009,996 broken out as follows:

1. $54,450,130 - allocated by virtue of the city's designation as a "metropolitan city" in Massachusetts
2. $21,559,866 - allocated by distributing the funds designated for Middlesex County, and disbursed to cities and towns based on their percentage of the county's population

The City of Lowell’s ARPA team, functioning through the City Manager’s Finance Department, is responsible for managing ARPA funding for the city, and has been focused on ascertaining the eligible uses of ARPA funds and gathering data on community needs and potential projects in an effort to help guide the City Manager and the City Council through their deliberations.

The City of Lowell’s recovery plan includes a commitment to ensuring a transparent and accountable process in our efforts to fund eligible and impactful projects using our allocated ARPA funds.  At this time, the following key areas within the community have been identified, in which ARPA funds will be invested:

• Social Impact Programs. Through ARPA, the City will invest in various social impact programs to make commitments and investments into key areas; specifically, education/training; public health; social/economic equity; and growing generational wealth.

• Lowell Fire Department Apparatus Replacement Plan. The Lowell Fire Department maintains a fleet of 43 vehicles.  This includes a large array of equipment used for everything from fire response to training and staff functions.  With an average age of 15-16 years, the current fleet situation is problematic.  The ARPA funding will allow the City to make a nearly complete replacement of the oldest pieces of apparatus.

• Lowell Neighborhood Improvement Plan. The ARPA neighborhood improvement plan will include directed funding for eligible parks projects, water & sewer infrastructure projects, and neighborhood business district improvements across Lowell’s neighborhoods, with a focus on Qualified Census Tracts (QCT).

• Municipal Building Improvements. Targeted towards funding in School facilities, as well as other municipal buildings for eligible improvements (e.g., HVAC and ADA improvements, etc.).

• Water & Sewer Infrastructure Improvements. The City will accelerate its efforts to complete sewer separation projects in the Humphrey’s Brook / Billing Brook subarea, Tilden Street subarea, and other identified locations to reduce CSOs. Investments will also be made in water infrastructure and to purchase heavy machinery to better maintain the water & sewer systems.

• Economic Development & Recovery. These ARPA investments will support small businesses, helping them to address financial challenges caused by the pandemic and to make investments in COVID-19 prevention and mitigation tactics, as well as to provide technical assistance. The City will employ a broad array of grant, in-kind assistance, and counseling programs to enable small businesses to rebound from the downturn.  A priority will be placed on speeding the recovery of the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors, supporting industries that were particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 emergency and are just now beginning to mend.

• Non-Profit Support. Working in partnership with Lowell’s vibrant network of non-profit agencies, the City will make investments in sustainable programs to aid in the recovery of Lowell’s underserved populations.

• Public Health Efforts, Premium Pay, & Compliance. The City will continue to address COVID-19 and any other public health issues, as well as mitigate its impact and administer all program funding areas utilizing the balance of the federal allocation.  Premium pay will be paid to eligible municipal employees who worked in public-facing positions during the pandemic.