With $4 Million To Spend, Sudbury Hosting Stimulus Forum

SUDBURY, MA — With close to $4 million left to spend, Sudbury will hold a listening session this week to hear from residents about what to do with federal stimulus money sent to the town via the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Sudbury received about $5.9 million from the feds, and in January the Select Board approved a plan to spend about $2 million. Some of that spending includes $400,000 for a Fairbank Community Center water main replacement, hiring social workers, gift cards for basic needs and ventilation system upgrades at Lincoln-Sudbury High School.

On Thursday, residents can talk to the Select Board about other possible uses for the money.

The town can't spend the money on anything it wants. Generally, it can be used to support public health spending, replace lost government revenue, provide "premium pay" for essential workers, invest in infrastructure and broadly "address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, including economic harms to workers, households, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector," according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

The Sudbury Select Board is looking for spending ideas around a few subject areas: public health, economic insecurity related to the pandemic, education initiatives and infrastructure upgrades.

Residents can join in the ARPA discussion by tuning into Thursday's forum via Zoom. The event begins at 7 p.m. Residents can also ask questions about stimulus spending by emailing ARPA@sudbury.ma.us.