How will Troy use leftover COVID relief funds?

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Local governments across New York State are approaching a large deadline for federal COVID relief funds. The American Rescue Plan Act, (ARPA) funds must be allocated by the end of the year and the City of Troy still has some money leftover.

The City of Troy received just over $42 million in ARPA funds to help it bounce back after the pandemic. Carmella Mantello, mayor of Troy said that some of the organizations and projects did not use all of their funds, therefore they have some money leftover.

"The good news is a couple of the projects actually didn’t use all of their money," said Carmella Mantello, Troy mayor. "It's approximately five million dollars." 

Mantello plans to use four million dollars of that five for a new, unannounced project. The project will have to be approved by the city at the meeting on Monday, Dec. 30.

“Stay tuned, we are talking to the council right now on another major project which we’ll announce in the next week," said Mantello.

Plus, the remaining one million dollars will go toward one of Troy's largest issues.

“A huge priority of mine, which is replacing lead pipes all throughout the city," said Mantello. "We’ve already replaced about 350 lead pipes throughout the city and we’ve spent about two million so far."

Troy has received close to 13 million in federal dollars to replace lead pipes, so this one million will be added to that. Along with problems like lead pipes, the ARPA funds were broken down for allocation into categories such as neighborhood improvement, technology, economic development and more.

One community center called Team H.E.R.O opened in Troy with the help of $300,000 in ARPA funds. The city held a ribbon cutting Wednesday to celebrate Team H.E.R.O.'s efforts to better the neighborhood.

“Our young people come after school and they get taught in STEAM which is science, technology, engineering, arts and math," said Jerry Ford, co-founder of Team H.E.R.O. "We also have a partnership with a regional food bank and we’re doing a food pantry."

H.E.R.O. stands for "Helping everyone recognize opportunities." Ford said he plans to use the money right away.

“Its amazing and what it means to us, is the world. It’s going to provide the infrastructure that we need to expand our program," said Ford. “First and foremost, we’re using it to bring on actual employees."

While the deadline to allocate ARPA funds is Dec. 31, organizations like Team H.E.R.O. must spend the money they get by the end of 2026.