Sumner City Council Approves Third Round Of ARPA Spending

SUMNER, WA — Sumner City Council has approved a plan to spend its third round of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

The America Rescue Plan Act is a $1.9 trillion economic relief bill passed by Congress in early 2021. It gave an estimated $2 billion in COVID-19 relief funding to Pierce County, $2.9 million of will be given to the City of Sumner, doled out over a 2-year period.

The City Council on Monday approved a plan to spend the third portion of that funding, which has been divided up into:

• $320,000 for economic response and resilience, mostly in the form of grants for local businesses. That includes $100,000 for tenant improvement grants, $120,000 for a restaurant establishment fund, and $100,000 to help develop the Commissary Kitchen.
• $1,500,000 for infrastructure investments. This includes $500,000 to install new bathrooms at Loyalty and Rainier View Parks, plus other park restroom improvements. It also sets aside $1,000,000 for the Kincaid/Cherry Pedestrian plaza and supporting water and storm utility costs.

This third round of funding is the largest the city has received yet. All together, the city has now allocated over $2.6 million of its expected ARPA funding, with the remaining $223,000 coming later this year.

A summary of the total spending thus far (including the third round of funding), courtesy of the city, can be seen below:

The city has until Dec. 31, 2024 to allocate all ARPA funds, which must be spent by the end of 2026.