BF Trustees list priorities for ARPA funds

BELLOWS FALLS — Greater Rockingham Area Services was at the top of the list compiled by the Bellows Falls Village Trustees of projects deserving some of the village's $880,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

GRAS, the non-profit agency which owns the former Rockingham Memorial Hospital and is landlord to a variety of non-profit medical and non-medical organizations and for-profit businesses in the building, wants to raise $2 million to pay for a new wood-fired boiler system for the old hospital.

The GRAS boiler project scored the highest in a compilation of the trustees’ individual priorities, according to Village President Deborah Wright. ARPA was passed by Congress in 2021 at the height of the pandemic in an effort to stimulate the economy and put people back to work. The money has to be used by 2026, and it has to be used on a one-time project and not saved for ongoing expenses.

Three of the five trustees gave it their top priority — Trustees James "Jiggs" McAuliffe, Trustees Wade Masure and Trustee Jeff Dunbar all gave it a 9, according to Wright. Wright said that she gave the project a 6, and Trustee Stefan Golec gave it a 3.

Wright said the Village Trustees made no decision Tuesday night about how much of the $880,000 would go toward GRAS’ boiler project, with suggestions ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 or $200,000.

GRAS wants to install a new, more efficient and cost-effective heating system and it has received some federal and state grants already.

In addition to the GRAS boiler project, other high-scoring projects include a new system for handling the bio-solid dried pellets at the Bellows Falls sewage treatment plant, which scored 30 points; a new elevator at the Bellows Falls Public Safety building, which was tied at 27 points each with setting aside $200,000 for community projects, including giving landowners grants to fix up their dilapidated buildings.

Wright said the bio-solid project could cost a total of $200,000. The village last year purchased a "sludge dryer" so it would no longer have to truck liquid waste to a landfill in northern Vermont.

The dried pellets currently have to be handled manually, Wright said, and the handling project would make it easier for the village to get rid of the pellets. Area farmers are using the bio-solid pellets on their fields as fertilizer and both Vermont and New Hampshire have certified their safety.

The goal, she said, is to reduce the manpower needed to handle the pellets and get them ready to be used by farmers. Currently the pellets are hand-loaded into 1,000 pound containers.

Wright said she gave the GRAS project a 6 instead of a 9 because she felt that ARPA funding should come from all the towns that use the services at Greater Rockingham, and not just the village of Bellows Falls. She said the town of Rockingham so far has not designated any of its $400,000 in ARPA funds to the project.

Bellows Falls received about $880,000 in ARPA funding because the vast majority of the residents of the town live in the village of Bellows Falls.

Rockingham plans on using its ARPA funds on the Bellows Falls train station project, as well as the rehabilitation of the Rockingham Meeting House. Both properties are — or will be — owned by the town.

Wright said that GRAS is not owned by the village or the town, but is a non-profit. Marty Gallagher, the executive director of GRAS, couldn't be reached Wednesday.

The trustees have not made a final decision on its ARPA funds, but they have been discussing the issue for several months. The village and town held public hearings on potential uses last year.

Contact Susan Smallheer at [email protected].