Northampton Administrator urges patience as ARPA funds are debated

Northampton’s County Administrator Charlie Kolakowski urged patience and deliberation in regards to how the American Rescue Plan Act(ARPA) funds are spent Tuesday night.

“Broadband is one issue we heard a lot about,” said Kolakowski, before adding “but it’s not the only issue.”

He urged the Supervisors to adopt a comprehensive, well thought out plan. Such a plan should include as many partners as possible.

Not only did both Counties get several millions of dollars, but incorporated towns did as well.

Kolakowski said there is not a tight schedule to spend the money, and it would behoove the County to wait as long as possible.

“There’s $1 trillion right now chasing many of the same resources,” he added.

Chairman Dixon Leatherbury agreed.

“We are having meetings every week trying to figure out how best to leverage this money,” said Chairman Leatherbury. “The long time frame could help get us over the hump of the additional demand and high prices we have currently.”