Altoona City Council hears presentation on completed and ongoing ARPA projects

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ)– The Altoona City Council is working to utilize its funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The council received a presentation at their Monday, March 27 evening work session that summarized the projects that have been completed and those that are still ongoing.

The American Rescue Plan Act included a one-time issuing of $40 million to the city to help in improving infrastructure.

“The city of Altoona is no different than a lot of municipalities in the northeast and perhaps even across the country where most of our infrastructure needs and the cost to maintain the infrastructure has significantly outpaced our ability to keep up with those dollars and resources,” Vice-Mayor Jesse Ickes said.

The majority of the projects Ickes says are related to improving infrastructure and stormwater drainage throughout the city.

He added that they are hoping to deal with blighted buildings, but that depends on the priority of the projects.