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The Como city council amended a livestock ordinance as well as heard from a project manager on ARPA funds at their Tuesday night meeting. File
ARPA funds, uses explained
The Como city council amended a current livestock ordinance to include more specific language and hear more on possible uses for their portion of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds at their Tuesday night meeting.
The ordinance limits residents within city boundaries to one livestock animal per half-acre, with exception to fowl. Fowl cannot be free-range and should be kept inside a well-maintained structure away from the residence.
“It’s more of a protection measure against disease,” mayor Jerry Radney said. “We already have enough disease without adding to it.”
Radney added the ordinance may help in maintaining neighbor cleanliness and possible keep up property values, but livestock could also cause property damage.
“I can remember back when we first adopted this ordinance back in 2011, 2012, that we had somebody’s goats eating the siding off of people’s houses,” Radney said. “They were tearing up flowers, landscapes that cost thousands, and so a lot of this is to protect homeowners so if they have a complaint, the city has a leg to stand on.”
In other items, Grantworks Project Manager Jerri Gauntt explained possible uses for the $167,000 from ARPA the city received. It can be used to, support public health expenditures, address negative impacts caused by the pandemic, pay essential workers, mitigate revenue loss or improve water, sewer or broadband infrastructure, and the city will mostly likely use the funds for water or sewer projects.
“You have half of it now that you have in your account,” Gauntt said. “You’ll get the other half in about a year.”
Radney asked about possible emergency uses for the funds such as projects involving the city’s water system, which has been plagued by problems since the February winter storm. Gauntt believed there was a possible avenue for that but was unsure. The city has plenty of time to use the funds as they have to be spend by 2026.
“For the most part, the best thing to do is to plan for future projects and get them procured properly,” Gauntt said.
Any project funded by ARPA has stricter procurement rules with a minimum of three bidders needed. Any problems with procurement might risk clawback by the federal government, leaving the city dry, Gauntt said.