ARPA dollars arrive in Libby

Libby City Hall has received its first influx of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, officials said this week.

City Clerk and Treasurer Samuel Sikes announced the receipt of $354,932 in federal dollars at a June 21 Libby City Council meeting. The money comes from the roughly $1.9 trillion relief package signed into law by President Joe Biden in March.

The money arrived in Libby by way of Gov. Greg Gianforte, who unveiled the latest round of ARPA fund beneficiaries — Libby included — in a June 16 press released.

“These ARPA funds will provide 42 additional towns and cities with the authority to address their individual needs, from supporting those impacted by the pandemic to investing in their infrastructure needs,” Gianforte said in a statement.

Sikes told city councilors that Libby could expect another pot of money within the next 12 months. Questions remain regarding the specifics of how the money can be spent, but speaking generally, Sikes said it must go toward infrastructure projects.

“The plane is being built as we’re in flight — that’s what we’ve been told,” Sikes said. “There are some cheat sheets, but basically it’s for infrastructure, including broadband. The problem now is how to define infrastructure.”

In a separate interview, Sikes said the money also could be used toward matching grants offered by the state, potentially stretching the dollars even further. He said local officials, including the city administrator and city engineer, were hammering out just how to allocate the dollars.

During the June 21 meeting, Mayor Brent Teske described the influx as “a boon to economic development in the city through infrastructure.”