NORFOLK, Va. - The City of Norfolk is giving residents more ways to weigh in on how to make use of the city's funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The city received $154.1 million in ARPA funding. Residents can provide their priorities to help establish a collaborative, community-driven plan through online tools along with drop boxes located throughout the city, including two additional locations.
A virtual town hall meeting hosted by Councilwoman Andria McClellan and Councilwoman Danica Royster took place on Thursday, January 27 at 6 p.m.
The two new drop boxes are located at the Calvert Square Envision Center, located at 975 Bagnall Road, and the People First Office, located 521 Ruffner Street. Drop boxes provide residents with limited or no internet access an opportunity to have their priorities heard by filling out comment cards at the locations.
Additional locations can be found at the following:
- Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library
- Jordan- Newby Anchor Branch Library
- Richard A. Tucker Memorial Library
- Berkley Recreation Center
- East Ocean View Recreation Center
- Lambert's Point Community Center
- Norview Community Center
- Huntersville Multi-Service Center
Residents can also use the online survey, the Prioritize tool or email the city at ARPACommunication@norfolk.gov to share their priorities for ARPA funding.
Feedback from these resources and from previous public meetings can be viewed with the new Public Engagement Dashboard an online collection of all input provided by residents that is updated daily. All ARPA funding tools and information is available online here.
Citizens have until Wednesday, February 16 to provide their input at the the drop box locations or links listed above.
City staff will create a summary and detailed report of all public comments by the end of February. This report will be given to city council, senior city staff and residents who provided an email address at sign-in at one of the public emails. It will also be published on the city's ARPA webpage and printed and distributed to libraries across the city.
Resident feedback will be used to create a community-based city manager's recommendation for city council consideration on ARPA funding. City council will hold a public hearing once they have received the community-based City Manager's Proposed Plan.
In November, residents spoke to council members, discussing how they believe money from the funding should be spent. That meeting got heated, with people walking out after city leaders said the crowd would be breaking into small groups instead of presenting their ideas altogether.
