Norristown: Public Invited To Discuss How To Spend $20M

NORRISTOWN — The public is invited to two meetings next week to discuss how to spend $20M allocated to the borough from President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan.

The meetings are scheduled at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, and Thursday, July 14 at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit officer, 2 West Lafayette St.

The borough received its second half of the allotment in mid-June. The first half of the money was allocated in the summer of 2021.

In March 2021, President Joe Biden allocated $1.9 trillion nationwide as an infusion of resources to meet COVID-19 pandemic response needs and rebuild a stronger, more equitable economy.

The funds are being used to address infrastructure needs, make capital improvements and provide some relief to the municipal budget.

Since Aug. 2021, council has approved the following funds for projects:

• $1.9 million- Stormwater Authority operations
• $1.2 million- General 2022 budget relief
• $1.156 million- skate park at Poley Park
• $737,500- new fire truck
• $675,000- sewer system evaluation
• 318,000- park equipment improvements (Bartash, McCann, and Simmons).
• $290,000- four police vehicles
• $133,284- Rapp Alley stormwater installation
• $50,000- flood control gates and dam gauge.

The borough provides a community engagement platform at Norristownbuzz.org to collect feedback on the use of the funds.