Evanston City Council members will face some tough choices Monday as they try to decide how to spend roughly the last 15% of the city’s nearly $43.2 million in pandemic-related federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

With a little over $6 million left to allocate, they’ve got over $8 million in pending requests, plus over $2 million in proposals that were once approved, have been withdrawn for various reasons but may be revived, and a request for more affordable housing funds that doesn’t have a price tag on it yet.

Here’s a summary of the proposals and what’s been spent so far.

Potential ARPA projectsEstimated budgetFormer proposalCommitted so far in category
Revenue replacement$12,175,701
Meridian barricades for outdoor events$613.000
Safety improvements to crosswalks$300,000
Negative economic impacts$11,458,100
“Evanston Thrives” business district improvements$3,000,000
Whole & Free Foods manufacturing facilityTBD$550,000
Rebuilding Exchange workforce training facilityTBD$1,200,000
Small business assistance program$500,000
ASPIRE workforce development program$200,000
HODC 44-unit affordable housing, Church at Darrow$1,500,000
Funding additional new affordable housing unitsTBD
Public health$3,152,500
Addressing health inequities in lower-income neighborhoods$1,500,000
Youth violence reduction programTBD$552,000
Additional capital funding for mental health living room350,000
Additional funding for social services and mental health services$200,000
Infrastructure$5,000,000
Premium pay$994,060
Participatory budgeting$3,000,000
Administrative and other$1,000,000
Totals$8,163,000$2,302,000$36,780,361
Unallocated funds available$6,393,323
Excess of proposals over available funds$1,769,677$2,302,000

More detail on the specific proposals is included in the packet for Monday night’s City Council meeting.

Bill Smith is the editor and publisher of Evanston Now.

Leave a comment

The goal of our comment policy is to make the comments section a vibrant yet civil space. Treat each other with respect — even the people you disagree with. Whenever possible, provide links to credible documentary evidence to back up your factual claims.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *