ARPA Funds: New Gazebo, Overhauled Parks, Playgrounds & Fields

EAST HAVEN, CT —To be certain that the pandemic-created American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funding the town received could be spent for specific infrastructure improvement projects, it hired a consultant. So to avoid the mistakes other towns have made in the way the funds were handled, Mayor Joseph A. Carfora said.

"I hoped to be able to get all these projects done suing those funds, so we hired a consultant to make sure we followed the rules," Carfora said. "We were given clear guidance about what could be spent on what, so we were on solid ground. And we are."

That meant that projects like the gazebo, which had been neglected for years, he said, could be funded. Other projects include the "complete overhaul" of three playgrounds, also "neglected for years," and playing fields could be renovated.

The beautification and renovation and rebuild of "yes, more neglected" sites, including the gazebo on the Green, "were really important to us, to the community," Carfora said.

"It matters that our town center reflects the pride we have in our town," Carfora said.

And so, a "brand new" gazebo is "on the way," funded though private donations and ARPA funds, Carfora said.

"We've had to keep patching, keep repairing the gazebo," he said. "Throwing good money after bad is bad policy."

The project has gone out to bid.

And the Green project continues.

"The first phase of the Town Green Beautification project was such a success; people loved it," Carfora said.

After pandemic delays, the engraved brick pavers are soon to begin being placed on the Green's walkway in time for early June's Walk East Haven where the rest of the bricks will have been laid and the remaining plaques for memorial benches placed.

Bricks can still be purchased. Stop by the Mayor’s Office to be part of the next wave of orders. For more information call (203) 468-3204.