Lakewood Seeks Community Input On ARPA COVID Relief Spending

LAKEWOOD, WA — The City of Lakewood is asking residents to weigh in before it spends nearly $14 million in pandemic relief funds.

Through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the City of Lakewood has been allocated $13.77 million to mitigate the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakewood is one of just 34 Washington cities to receive funds directly through ARPA. The only other Pierce County city identified for significant funding is Tacoma, which will receive nearly $61 million.

APRA regulations mean Lakewood can only use the money to:

• Support the public health response, by funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral health care, mental health and substance misuse treatment, and certain public health and safety personnel.
• Address the economic fallout caused by the public health emergency, including by rehiring public workers, providing aid to those in need of food, housing or other financial aid, offering small business assistance, and extending support for industries hardest hit by the crisis.
• Invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure, improving access to clean drinking water, supporting vital wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and expanding access to broadband internet.

Despite the challenges the pandemic posed, city leaders say Lakewood is in a strong financial position currently and is not in a rush to spend the ARPA funding. As a result, they say they have time to hear what the public has to say before breaking out the checkbook.

There are plans to launch a public engagement campaign later this summer to draw more eyes to the issue, but in the meantime the city is collecting opinions on the matter through a survey posted to its website.