St. Louis County is seeking community voices to help direct its spending of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding it received to help recover from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the County, of the $193.1 million in ARPA funds awarded (a first batch of $96.5 million received), almost $103 million has been appropriated and $4 million has been spent. Another $90 million has not been committed at this point.
County Executive Dr. Sam Page has assembled a community outreach team, led by Stephanie Lewis, newly appointed chief transformation officer, Veta Jeffery, chief diversity officer, and Ethel Byndom, Office of Community Engagement director to ensure community members have a say.
Cal Harris, County Executive chief of staff, orchestrated this change, calling the community outreach team “a priority to ensure that the response to the pandemic continues to be an equitable one.”
“When it comes to these historic funds, it is critical that we make sure people and places that haven systematically ignored have a voice in what this investment looks like,” Harris told The St. Louis American.
“I feel like an (NFL general manager). The team we have is amazing. I’m trying to bring my own leadership and perspective to the effort.”
The needs of the community are paramount in deciding where financial allocations should be directed, Page said in a release.
“This newly assembled team has deep roots in the community and brings a tremendous amount of experience to the table. Hearing from our residents on what the needs are in their communities is critical especially as we talk about recovering from this pandemic,” Page said.
“I’m excited to see this new initiative unfold.”
Harris said the team “will bring new energy” to the County’s effort in finding equitable ways to share the federal funding.
“We know that this pandemic disproportionately impacted African-Americans and we want to make sure those hit the hardest by the virus have a say in how we recover and build an even better St. Louis County,” Harris said.
“While we have had conversations with community groups, nonprofits and municipal leaders throughout the pandemic response, we know we can improve on our engagement and that’s what we plan to do.”
Harris said dates and locations of public conversations should be released in the coming week.
Before joining Page’s staff, Lewis was vice president of FPM Communications, directing over $70 million in communications projects for clients including former President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
She previously served as vice president of human resources for People’s Health Centers, as a consultant at Gateway Management Group, and director of human resources and diversity for Office Depot.
Jeffery was a senior vice president of community and economic development for Midwest BankCentre Midwest, and Community Development Specialist for the State of Missouri.
Byndom is familiar with County service, working with community engagement for the county since 2015. She has been the County’s census coordinator and worked for the State of Missouri from 2005-2013.
“We will be announcing initiatives in the coming weeks to capture more voices in these discussions. I’m excited to see this new initiative unfold,” Page said.
