ROCHESTER – The Town of Rochester will soon be able to apply for up to $1,190,500 in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, were signed into law on March 11, 2021 to provide funding to state and local governments as a way to alleviate some of the financial effects of the Covid pandemic.

Half of the funding for Rochester will come from the state, and the other half will come from the federal government.

Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O'Brien and Plymouth County Commissioner Jared Valanzola visited the Rochester Select Board on Monday, Nov. 21, to present information about this funding and what opportunities would be available to the town.

O’brien said that Plymouth County intends to be “stringent in the review process,” to ensure that “every dollar we give out meets every rule and regulation of ARPA.” This makes sure that the town will get the return on all the money they spend.

O’Brien pointed out that the systems the county put in place for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, were very successful.

Rochester received $926,000 in total from the CARES Act, out of about $90 million dollars that was allocated throughout Plymouth County.

“The way Plymouth distributed it was a national model for many counties around us,” said Valanzola.

“We received awards for how we did it,” O’Brien said. “No surprise that the county commissioners want me to replicate that with ARPA. It is a different piece of legislation, but they’ve challenged me to be the best in the country again and we’ll see what we can do.”

O’Brien said that one of the town’s projects that could be eligible for ARPA funding would be the design of a new public safety building for Rochester Police and Fire, which is currently undergoing a feasibility study..

The town has until December of 2024 to apply for ARPA funding.