Page 68 - BusinessWest August 22, 2022
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 The renovated outdoor space off the sixth-floor meeting area is one of the highlights of the soon-to- open Marriott in downtown Springfield.
   Springfield
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hood plans have been developed for many differ- ent sections of the city that address everything from sidewalks to lighting to beautification, with gathered suggestions then forwarded to an ARPA advisory committee.
Overall, new schools and libraries are being built, infrastructure improvements are being undertaken, and businesses continue to be supported as they face the lingering effects of COVID through initiatives such as the Prime the Pump program, which provid- ed grants of various sizes to businesses in need.
The city has received nearly $124 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) money to date, and it has distributed more than $50 million, including $4 mil- lion dispensed in the seventh round to date, earlier this month. Those funds went to small businesses, new businesses, nonprofits, neighborhoods, hous- ing, capital projects, and direct financial assistance to households and seniors, said Sarno, adding that that the basic strategy has been put that money to use in ways where the impact can be dramatic and immediate.
“The majority of the monies that have been distributed have really helped a lot of minority- owned businesses and women-owned businesses,” he explained. “It’s a very eclectic mix, from mom- and-pop businesses to larger ventures to direct assistance.”
There have been efforts in the broad category of workforce development as well, he went on, adding that businesses of all kinds continue to be impacted by an ultra-tight labor market, just as many are start- ing to see business pick up again.
Overall, there have been more than 30 meetings conducted with residents and business owners in
attendance, said the mayor, adding that these listening ses- sions were staged to gain direct feed- back on how federal COVID relief money can best be spent in Springfield.
Identified needs
and challenges range
from workforce issues
to childcare to trans-
portation, said Shee-
han, adding that what
has come from these
sessions is dialogue,
which has often led
to action, on how the
city can collaborate
with other groups and
agencies to address
these matters. And it has been a very fruitful learning experience.
“It created an opportunity to look at things differ- ently,” he noted. “And I do think it has caused people to look at how we can work collaboratively to solve some pretty significant problems.”
Bottom Line
To motorists who are stuck in it, there is really no such thing as ‘good traffic.’
But while drivers don’t use that phrase, elected officials and economic-development leaders cer- tainly do. As Sarno told BusinessWest, good traffic is a barometer of a city’s vibrancy, a measure of whether, and to what degree, a community has become a
destination.
For a long while, Springfield didn’t have much, if
any, of this ‘good traffic,’ and then, in the 18 months or so before COVID, it did. The pandemic and its many side effects took much of that traffic away, but there are many signs that it’s back and here to stay.
As the mayor said, the city is starting to get its mojo back. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
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