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Columbia City Hall (2021 file photo courtesy of city of Columbia)

Columbia councilwoman wants all of the city’s $25.2 million in ARPA funding to go to those most impacted by COVID pandemic

Columbia City Hall (2021 file photo courtesy of city of Columbia)

A Columbia city councilwoman has filed a resolution that commits to invest all of the $25-million the city will receive from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to provide direct assistance to those most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

Councilwoman Pat Fowler’s resolution will be first-read at tonight’s (Monday) council meeting: a vote will not take place. Her resolution also calls for using 100 percent of the ARPA funds to relieve “the conditions of systemic poverty, racial inequity, and to building robust pathways to economic security and public health capacity.”

President Biden signed ARPA in 2021: city spokeswoman Sydney Olsen says Columbia will receive about $25.2 million in ARPA funding.

Meantime, Columbia’s November 2021 voter-approved park sales tax extension would fund a proposed $100,000 fitness trail improvement project at Cosmo Park.

The city council will first-read the proposal at the meeting. Proposed improvements include repairs and an asphalt overlay of the fitness trail, memorial/heritage bench improvements and signage replacement.

If the city council approves the proposal in March, improvements would begin this spring and be completed by the fall.

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