Residents and concerned citizens:

We would like to take a moment to thank everyone who attended the meeting and provided input regarding the property being considered for a town park. We would also like to clarify some of the misinformation that we have seen circulating.

The first misconception is that the COVID relief funding is a grant that must be spent by December 2026 or the Town will lose the funds. While that is technically true, the funds have already satisfied the federal spending requirements.

Most municipalities commonly refer to these funds as "ARPA money." ARPA stands for the American Rescue Plan Act, the federal legislation that made the funding available. It was signed into law on March 11, 2021. In reality, the specific funding stream distributed to local governments was called the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) program, which is now more commonly referred to as State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). While ARPA and SLFRF are technically different terms, they are often used interchangeably.

The Town of Weddington was awarded $1,663,187.50 through this program. As a condition of receiving these funds, they had to be obligated by December 31, 2024, and expended by December 31, 2026. On June 14, 2021, the Town adopted a resolution authorizing acceptance of the funds.

One provision of the program allowed the Town to reimburse itself for certain eligible expenditures. Because these reimbursement categories were already included in the Town's budget and the associated costs had already been incurred, the Town elected to reimburse itself for eligible law enforcement, general administration, and economic and physical development services. The reimbursement period covered expenditures from July 1, 2021, through December 31, 2024.

As a result, the funds were expended in accordance with federal requirements and within the required timeframe. The reimbursement proceeds have since remained in the Town's accounts and are available for lawful Town purposes. As Mayor and Council, we recognize that this can be confusing, but the bottom line is that the Town has approximately $1.6 million available that is not subject to expiration.

Another question raised during the meeting was, "What funding is available if the Town decides to move forward with a park project?"

The Town has received a SCIF grant, which stands for the North Carolina State Capital and Infrastructure Fund. Approximately $665,000 remains available under this grant. These funds must be used for infrastructure-related purposes.

The Town has also received funding through the OSBM Park Grant, administered through the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management. Approximately $270,000 remains available under this grant, and those funds must be used for park-related purposes.

In addition, the Town has been notified that it will receive an additional $100,000 grant that may be used for park improvements, although those funds have not yet been received.

Finally, if the Town applies for and is awarded a PARTF (Parks and Recreation Trust Fund) grant, it could receive up to $500,000 in matching funds. A portion of the Town's available ARPA funds could potentially be used to satisfy the local match requirement.

Taking all of these funding sources into account, the Town could potentially assemble approximately $3.2 million for park and infrastructure-related improvements. With the exception of the ARPA funds, nearly all of these funding sources are restricted and must be used for either infrastructure or park-related projects. A park project would qualify as an infrastructure investment.  Going forward, our goal is to identify additional funds that could be used without burdening the town financially. We will work to identify those funds, should the residents decide that they would like to explore those options. 

I hope this answers the questions that were raised and cuts down on the circulating misinformation.  If you have specific questions about this or any other issues, please feel free to contact any one of us

Thank you,

Mayor Jim Bell

Councilmember Tom Smith

Councilmember Darcey Ladner

Councilmember Ellen McLaughlin

Councilmember Tripp Soukup