Fort Worth is at an impasse: spend all federal COVID-19 relief funds by 2026 or risk sending the money back to Washington, D.C.
With rising construction costs and delayed projects, city staff is proposing a reshuffling of dollars to meet deadlines and follow through on prior commitments. This includes reallocating money from the American Rescue Plan Act and general funds to projects that the staff is confident can be completed in the next two years.
鈥淭his is a two-pronged strategy,鈥� City Manager David Cooke told council members at a May 7 work session. 鈥淟et鈥檚 make sure we spend ARPA, and let鈥檚 see what we can do to hit some of those capital project needs.鈥�
ARPA dollars must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026.
About $85 million of federal and local money will be moved around, mostly to tackle transportation projects, while city staff continues to find dollars to close a $100 million funding gap for projects further down the road.
About $38.4 million of federal APRA money remains unspent. A portion of the remaining funds is currently committed to the Evans and Rosedale project, which has , and the Texas A&M Innovation Hub, which .
City staff is proposing those two projects be moved over to the general fund balance because the money allocated is not expected to be spent by 2026.
鈥淭here is no timetable in when (general fund) money has to be spent, so it鈥檒l be at the pace we need to go to do Evans and Rosedale the right way,鈥� Cooke said.
The ARPA dollars will instead fund qualified capital projects.
Federal ARPA funds must be used on projects created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative economic impacts, and for government services that saw a revenue dip as a result of the pandemic. The funds can also be used for water, sewer and broadband infrastructure improvements.
A majority of the newly funded projects are transportation and road projects in north Fort Worth. This includes improving pedestrian safety along Long Avenue, as well as intersection improvements at CFA Intermodal Parkway, North Beach Street, Basswood Boulevard, Wichita Street and Western Center Boulevard.
Work on the Meadowbrook Golf Course Maintenance Building is also on the list.
Several council members representing south Fort Worth raised concerns regarding the selection of the capital projects and their heavy focus on the north side.
Council member Chris Nettles, who represents southeast Fort Worth, which includes the Evans and Rosedale project, questioned why staff was picking and choosing projects on which to spend the federal funds rather than giving the council a complete list and letting them decide what is of interest based on constituents鈥� needs.
Nettles said this concern was voiced to staff previously, during the budgeting process.
鈥淚 understand moving the money. I get that part. But when you give us a list that doesn鈥檛 represent where we moved money from, it just smells a little fishy,鈥� Nettles said.
Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens also echoed the need for more geographical diversity in the selected transportation projects.
鈥淭his moving around, it鈥檚 too north-centered,鈥� Bivens said. 鈥淲e also need to have some type of language that promises the public, 鈥榃e know we鈥檙e moving this money around but we鈥檙e going to commit to doing what we told you,鈥� and I鈥檓 not hearing that.鈥�
Council member Carlos Flores, who has two projects that will benefit from ARPA dollars, said work has begun, but the final funding is necessary for completion. The scope of the two projects, Long Avenue and Basswood Boulevard, have also increased to address drainage improvements.
鈥淭hat was already funded, but now, supply chain issues, manufacturing slowdowns are coming into play,鈥� Flores said. 鈥淚t just needed more money to complete because as it stands right now, they can鈥檛 finish it.鈥�
Council member Alan Blaylock, who also has projects in his district, said these are committed projects that are no longer funded to full completion because of rising costs and supply chain issues.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 want to see us go back on prior commitments,鈥� he said.
An additional $28 million from prior transportation bonds will be dedicated to work on Cromwell Marine Creek Road and Golden Triangle Boulevard.
Concerns were also raised by council member Elizabeth Beck about funding from the was previously allocated to finding a new site now being used to pay for capital projects.
Beck told Cooke she worries that using funds originally dedicated to a new downtown library to pay for other projects will make it harder to find a location when the time comes.
With rising land costs, , she said.
鈥淭his council made a decision based on some information I won鈥檛 even say it wasn鈥檛 good information, but just on some assumptions that we would be able to find a building rather quickly and operate a downtown library again, and we can鈥檛,鈥� Beck said.
The city has $15.9 million left from the sale of the downtown library and plans to use $3.4 million from that sale for the far northwest library.
Cooke said $12.5 million from the library sale will be left to use on other library needs but did not say whether that money will be specifically dedicated to a downtown library.
鈥淭hat could be a policy choice. We haven鈥檛 dedicated it to specific use yet. So the balance would be undirected,鈥� Cooke said.
There are projects that continue to have funding gaps estimated at more than $100 million. Some of these projects are bond projects.
Another update will be given to the council at the May 21 meeting.
The city received $173 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars in 2021 and 2022 and spent a . The funds paid for large projects such as the Convention Center expansion, new City Hall and the realignment of Commerce Street. Money was also allocated to housing and the city鈥檚 response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sandra Sadek is a Report for America corps member, covering growth for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at sandra.sadek@fortworthreport.org or.
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