ST. JOHNSBURY - Saint Johnsbury will make $50 thousand in ARPA money to issue micro-grants of $1000 to $5000, assisting in building small projects that benefit the town. They are now accepting applications thru May 30. Town Manager, Chad Whitehead, said, "the whole concept this first round, we want people thinking about a project that might benefit the community to be able to take that first step." The micro-grants are available for businesses, non-profits, and citizens.
The grant applications approval notification will be made on July 15 for qualified projects.
When asked about inquiries for the micro-grants, Whitehead indicated there currently was, "not a lot of details, but interest in outdoor rec stuff, state parks, and the ice-skating rinks."
There are also planning and implementation grants of $5000 to $40,000 from a $100 thousand fund for larger projects.
Whitehead hopes this process will identify some larger projects for the town after the processing and distribution of the micro-grants and the planning and implementation grants. A second round of micro-grants scheduled for 2024 might open up this fall instead. Whitehead states, "if we see a lot more application in requests than what is set aside for funds now, we can go to the select board and request additional funds be opened up sooner." As with the planning and implementation, the micro-grants are one-time funding made available with ARPA money received by the town, not an ongoing expenditure.