American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)

• How much money did Kenmore receive in ARPA funds?

  The City of Kenmore received a little over $6.4 million in funds in two payments: half was received in mid-2021 and the remainder was received in mid-2022. 

• Why is the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) program sometimes referred to as SLFRF, and is there a difference between the two programs?

  The U.S. Department of Treasury refers to the funds authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act as [Coronavirus] State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, or SLFRF. The City of Kenmore had already begun using the term "ARPA funds" and has retained that term for consistency. King County sometimes refers to these funds as Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery funds, or CLFR. All of these refer to the same federal program with the same funding source, the American Rescue Plan Act.

• When will the City spend the ARPA funds they’ve been allocated?

  The City is required to allocate all ARPA funds by the end of 2024, and the money must be spent by the end of 2026.

• How is the City of Kenmore spending its ARPA funds?

  In May 2021, the Kenmore City Council allocated $1,000,000 for direct cash assistance to residents. (May 24, 2021 meeting minutes here.) In July 2021, the Kenmore City Council finalized guiding principles and a big picture strategy to guide the rest of the City’s funding decisions made possible by ARPA. (July 26, 2021 meeting minutes here.) Multiple avenues of community engagement provided Kenmore residents and stakeholders with an opportunity to weigh in on other preferred projects. In response, the Kenmore City Council approved the following other allocations:

  • $3,200,000  Affordable Housing 
  • $50,000       Homelessness Response
  • $100,000    Catch-Up Learning and Childcare Support
  • $250,000    Human Services 
  • $250,000    Business Assistance (includes $75,000 for urgent business assistance in 2022)

• How did the Kenmore City Council decide how to spend ARPA funds?

  At the May 24, 2021 meeting, City Manager Rob Karlinsey presented a memo to Council with an overview of allowable uses of ARPA funds under the guidelines of the SLFRF (ARPA) Interim Final Rule. The ARPA agenda item and discussion begins at 3:47:18 of the May 24, 2021 meeting (video linked here) and includes Council direction to allocate $1 million for direct cash assistance to Kenmore residents hardest hit by the pandemic. Another allowable use presented in the memo was affordable housing. In addition, the City sought input from multiple sources including Kenmore businesses, residents, community members, City Councilmembers, city staff, partner organizations and other stakeholders to generate a list of other ARPA project ideas.  

  • September 10 – October 22, 2021 – ARPA Business Recovery Survey was circulated to seek input from Kenmore businesses on their needs 

  • November 1, 2021 – ARPA Community Listening Session facilitated by Chanin Kelly-Rae, the City's DEI consultant, was held for the community to generate ARPA project ideas 

  • December 13, 2021 – Collected ideas presented by staff to Council for preliminary guidance and approval to proceed with community engagement tool  

  • Mid-December 2021 through mid-February 2022 – Community engagement tool (Balancing Act Prioritize) launched to give Kenmore community members an opportunity to provide input on the City’s ARPA funding priorities 

  • March 2022 – Analysis of community input and presentation to Council 

  • March 28, 2022 – Council decision to allocate $650,000 of funds made possible by ARPA based on community input (meeting minutes here)

  • June 21, 2022 - Council approval of Plymouth Housing as affordable housing project partner; Council allocation of $3.2 million of funds made possible by ARPA for the project (meeting minutes here)

• What is Kenmore Cares?

  Kenmore Cares is the name of the program used to distribute the money to low-income residents through a contract with the Northshore Schools Foundation. All funds from this program have been expended and no new applications are being accepted. You can read more about Kenmore Cares Direct Cash Assistance under "Completed Programs" on this American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) page.

• The funds originally distributed to very-low-income residents through Kenmore Cares weren’t sufficient to meet their needs. Will additional funds be available to those who have already received money?

  The Kenmore City Council heard this feedback and raised the direct cash assistance amount from $500 to $2,000 for each primary applicant at its December 13, 2021 meeting. Second checks were mailed in late December 2021 to every head of household who had previously received funds, and new primary applicants within the application period received the full $2,000. 

• Will the City use some of its ARPA funds to benefit the whole community instead of just low-income residents? (For instance, road safety or sidewalk safety or other projects.)

  The Kenmore City Council based decisions on how to allocate a significant portion of ARPA funding on the results of community engagement with the whole community. More details on allocations can be found on this American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) page.

• Is there a program for landlords to recover rent payments lost during the pandemic?

  No. Landlord and rent assistance was one of the 16 possible project ideas in the Balancing Act Prioritize community engagement exercise, but other programs received more support.    

• Will any ARPA funds be available to support local small businesses and Kenmore non-profits?

  The Kenmore City Council allocated $250,000 to business assistance. $65,000 was granted in 2022 to Kenmore small businesses operating out of commercial locations in the City. The remaining $185,000 was granted and distributed to eligible Kenmore small businesses and nonprofits operating out of commercial or home-based locations.

• Can ARPA funds be used to backfill budget areas that previously have been cut, such as road resurfacing and sidewalk projects?

  When the U.S. Department of Treasury issued the SLFRF Interim Final Rule guiding recipient agencies in allowable uses, backfilling budgets was not allowed unless there was a specific relationship between the budget cut and COVID-19 impacts. However, the SLFRF Final Rule and accompanying reporting guidelines allowed more flexibility, including allowing jurisdictions to report up to $10 million ARPA funds received as "revenue replacement," whether or not there was actual revenue loss. The City of Kenmore opted to choose this category of "revenue replacement" for reporting, while still carrying out the program of work made possible by ARPA as authorized by the Kenmore City Council.

• Will the City of Kenmore receive any additional ARPA funding?

  No. The City received a little more than $6.4 million in ARPA funds, which represents 100% of its allocation of funds authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) legislation.

• Where can I find resources and support for impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic?

  Find a list of community resources on the City of Kenmore Community Resources page.

  King County has published a "2022 King County Recovery Plan" that delineates King County's COVID-19 response to date, along with an outline of programs still in progress.

  Washington State Department of Commerce has COVID-19 resources on their website at https://www.commerce.wa.gov/.

  U.S. Department of Commerce has a COVID-19 Information Hub on their website at https://www.commerce.gov/covid-19-information-hub.