The City of Vicksburg has either spent or committed the bulk of its $5.3 million in American Recovery Plan Act funds, city records show.

According to information obtained Wednesday through the Freedom of Information Act, the city’s commitments totaled $5,210,840.25. The city received $5,323,285.50 in funds approved by Congress in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money, better known as ARPA funds, was designed to provide opportunities for state and local governments to make strategic investments in long-lived assets, rebuild reserves to enhance financial stability and cover temporary operating shortfalls until economic conditions and operations normalize.

The federal funding was disbursed to local and state governments over a two-year period with Vicksburg receiving two payments of $2.661 million each that were disbursed using two categories: community-based and non-profit organizations, and revenue restoration such as tourism, infrastructure and recovery projects.

“What we did was, we looked at the letter of the law and we executed, based on the letter of the law,” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said. “But the primary goal of that money was one, to restore revenues, and two, bring back revenue; strong revenues for the underserved community.”

Some of the programs benefitting from city ARPA allocations served children in underserved areas. In many cases, the allocations to the organizations were split over a two-year period, while some allocations were for one year.

According to updated numbers provided by the city, $1.368 million of the $5.3 million was committed to community organizations for various activities such as tourism — local museums, education assistance and tutoring, food, community violence intervention and housing assistance.

At the request of the NAACP, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen set aside $300,000 in ARPA funds to provide grants to qualifying homeowners for the repair, improvement or modernization of their homes within an economically disadvantaged area in the city, city officials said.

The city’s Community Development Department worked along with the NAACP to identify houses within the targeted areas needing repairs. The Community Development Division ensured that any applicants were qualified to receive funding meaning the applicant must have an income of 80 percent or less of the median income for the area and the applicant must own the house inside the city limits.

According to an agreement between the city and the NAACP, the city would provide up to $15,000 per house toward the cost of rehabilitation.

The city’s revenue recovery items were divided into two categories: city projects and city capital projects.

The city spent $1.036 million on capital projects including equipment for police cars such as radios, body cameras for police and other equipment for police cars and fire trucks while committing another $2.8 million for capital projects.

Funds were also used to improve security at the Vicksburg Convention Center and for video cameras that have been placed in various areas of the city. The city spent $56,100 on video equipment and cameras with the security group Project NOLA, purchasing 21 surveillance cameras for the city.

The city’s capital projects included $297,471 for flooring and finishing work at the convention center. Another $843,750 was used to cover the city’s cost of repairs to Iowa Boulevard, where a severe erosion area across from McDonald’s threatened the street.

The city also committed $1.66 million in ARPA money to cover its share of work at the water treatment plant on Haining Road.

“If it hadn’t been for ARPA, we would have been in a critical situation,” Flaggs said.

“I can say this emphatically: every dime of the ARPA money has been spent according to the law. In fact, the legal department looked over everything that we sent out of our office. We sent it to the legal department to look at it,” he added. “And there’s a contract for all of those recipients; everybody that got it, for those recipients, there should be a contract agreement and an audit report.”

 

The city’s ARPA allocations for internal projects include:

• ConstructionCam Inc.-Police Department camera trailer: $49,890; provision of government services-public safety.

• TCSWARE Inc., Car tag reader and mounting package: $18,650.46; provision of government services-public safety.

• Yates Air Conditioning & Refrigeration: $21,766; provision of government services-public safety.

• Dana Safety Supply Inc., police vehicle accessories: $6,634; provision of government services-public safety.

• Dana Safety Supply Inc., police vehicle accessories: $8,664; provision of government services-public safety.

• Digital Alley, police vehicle accessories: $9,485; provision of government services-public safety.

• Applied Concepts Inc., police vehicle accessories: $5,929 provision of government services-public safety.

• Kirk Auto World, six police pursuit vehicles: $171,000; provision of government services-public safety.

• Motorola Solutions Inv., police vehicle accessories: $12,251.25; provision of government services-public safety.

• Digital Ally, police vehicle accessories: $18,875; provision of government services-public safety.

• Dana Safety Supply Inc., police vehicle accessories: $11,066.81; provision of government services-public safety.

• Applied Concepts Inc., police vehicle accessories: $11,859; provision of government services-public safety.

• H&M Promotional products, police vehicle accessories: $3,600; provision of government services-public safety.

• Motorola Inc., fire department radios: $9,380.60; provision of government services-public safety.

• Motorola Inc., fire department radios: $9,380.60; provision of government services-public safety.

• Tint Shop Inc., police vehicle: $390; provision of government services-public safety.

• Convention center, Prevention Fire and Security LLC: $26,925.50, provision of government services-public safety.

• Big River Ship Builders (city waterfront): $69,235; provision of government services-public safety, tourism.

• Wesley B. Jones Electric, electric work at Halls Ferry Park: $23,760; provision of government services-public safety-tourism.

• Digital Alley Inc. police body cameras, five-year lease; $286,305; provision of government services-public safety.

• Lane Line LLC, street striping: $37,900; provision of government services-public safety.

• J.A. Burnett Logistics LLC, police: $8,000; provision of government services-public safety.

• Acoustical Solutions-Jackson Street gym: $30,057.47 provision of government services-public safety, healthy childhood development.

• Struthers Recreation, pickleball shades: $33,254.88; provision of government services-public safety-tourism.

• Struthers Recreational, Ford/Yates Park equipment: $30,808.92: provision of government services-public safety-healthy childhood environment.

• Project Nola, three camera units; host 25X Auto Tracking: $9,900; provision of government services-public safety.

• eSouth Technologies LLC-seven camera units, materials: $11,200; provision of government services-public safety.

• eSouth Technologies – seven camera units, labor: $1,750; provision of government services-public safety.

• Bayou Forest Products Inc. camera project-poles: $9,085.20; provision of government services-public safety.

• Wesley B. Jones Electrical camera project-labor/materials-10 poles, electrical system; $5,677.89; provision of government services-public safety.

• eSouth Technologies LLC, 21 camera units-materials; $26,250; provision of government services-public safety.

• eSouth Technologies LLC-21 cameras, labor: $9,450; provision of government services-public safety.

• Project Nola; Meta Data-21 camera units; Host 25X auto tracking-21 camera units: $46,200; provision of government services-public safety.

Subtotal City Projects: $1,036,582.08

 

The city’s ARPA allocations to Capital Projects:

• Convention Center flooring/finishes project, $297,471.46; provision of government services-tourism.

• State ARPA funded MCWI Round 1: Iowa Boulevard repairs/stabilization project; city’s half-share toward $1,687,500 cost = $843,750; provision of government services-public safety.

• State ARPA-funded MCWI Round 2-water plant improvement project; city’s half-share application to project $3,329,050.52 = $1,664,525.26; provision of government services-clean water source.

City Capital Projects Subtotal: $2,805,746.72

The city’s ARPA allocations to organizations include:

• The Arch Group (Kids R Coding; Kids Are Kids Daycare): $24,879.90, education assistance.

• Jacqueline House African America Museum: $20,833.34, tourism.

• Catfish Row Museum: $20,833.34, tourism.

• Vicksburg Civil War Museum: $20,833.34, tourism.

• Vicksburg Civil War Museum: $20,833.34, tourism.

• Biedenharm Coca-Cola Museum: $20,833.34, tourism.

• Old Courthouse Museum: $20,833.34, tourism.

• Vicksburg Transportation Museum (Old Depot)-Programs: $20,833.34, tourism.

•Positive Pathways Behavioral Health LLC: $20,000, mental health services.

• United Way-Voyager Literacy Program: $266,900, education assistance.

•United Way Excel 5 Program: $2,500, education assistance.

• Wildwood Community Association: $10,000, community violence intervention.

• New Beginnings of Vicksburg: $5,000, food program.

• Children Education Station Daycare Learning Center: $5,000, education assistance.

• Vicksburg Catholic School Sisters of Mercy Early Learning Center: $20,000, education assistance.

• Crawford Street Play School Early Learning Center: $10,000, education assistance.

• Central Mississippi Prevention Services: $15,000, education assistance.

• Triumph Ministries Inc. dba Kings Empowerment Center: $20,000, education assistance.

• Carpe Diem Management LLC: $5,000, tourism.

• Vicksburg Battlefield Museum (Old Depot) Capital-rehab trolley & display area for the city’s 1900 horse-drawn fire wagon: $253,154.51, tourism.

• Faith Walker Learning Development (GED/standardized testing classes): $5,000, education assistance.

• Touch Inc., Youth enrichment program for 50-plus children ages 5-19 at 1100 Main St.: $10,000, education assistance.

• Step by Step Performing Arts Academy: $8,000 education assistance.

• We Care Community Services Inc.: $10,000, education assistance.

• Lifting Lives Ministries Inc.: $20,000, housing support.

• Mountain of Faith Ministries: $20,000, housing support.

• Vicksburg Convention Center: $5,000, tourism.

• Linda Sweezer Enterprises: $16,000, small business assistance.

• Brilliant Minds Tutorial Services LLC: $7,500, education assistance.

• NuLife Healthcare LLC: $20,000, mental health services.

• HIV Services Inc.: $18,000, medical services/expenses.

• Good Foundations Tutoring Services, contract one of two: $5,000, education assistance.

• Good Foundations Tutoring Services, contract two of two: $2,500, educational assistance.

• Turner Speech & Language Services LLC: $5,000, educational services.

• Vicksburg Convention Center: $13,300 tourism.

• Center for Pregnancy Choices: $5,000, medical services/expenses.

• Omicron Rho Lambda Educational Foundation Inc.: $5,000, educational assistance.

• Medgar and Angela Scott Foundation: $30,000, education assistance.

•Fuzzy Johnson Baseball League: $100, education assistance-social.

• James “Fuzzy” Johnson Foundation contract one of two: $2,500, education assistance-social.

• James “Fuzzy” Johnson Foundation contract two of two: $1,250, education assistance-social.

• Drive-to-Thrive Mentoring Program (Fateca Grant) one of two: $2,500, education assistance.

• Drive-to-thrive Mentoring Program contract two of two: $1,250, education assistance.

• Jackson Advocate: $3,000, small business assistance.

• Jacob’s Ladder Learning Center Inc.: $10,000, education assistance.

• Good Shepherd Community Center on behalf of Empower YOUniversity: $8,400, education assistance.

• Travelers Rest Christian Academy: $10,000, education assistance.

• Triumph Church: $5,000, education assistance.

• Warren County Children’s Center, a solution of MS Children’s Home Society dba Canopy Children’s Solutions: $5,000, healthy childhood environment services to foster youth.

• JB Entertainment Group: $17,777, tourism.

• Alcorn State University National Alumni: $1,500, tourism.

• Low-income housing rehabilitation project: $300,000, Low-income housing.

• Rainbow Farms: $2,000, aid to nonprofit organization.

• Community Council of Warren County: $10,500, aid to nonprofit organization.

Subtotal of community groups commitments: $1,368,511.45

Total ARPA funds expended/committed: $5,210,840.25