During its Tuesday meeting, the Ogden City Council voted 7-0 to amend the 2024-2025 budget, appropriating the final ARPA funds into salaries for the police and fire departments and appropriating the money this freed up to the general fund future projects. The total budget alteration concerned $18,530,850.

Ogden City Council Executive Director Janene Eller-Smith told the Standard-Examiner that the city had just over $9 million in ARPA funds that had not been directly allocated yet.

“It was funds that could be used for what they just (call) general government operations and loss of revenue,” she said. “During the pandemic, the city didn’t actually lose revenue, but you could still use it for whatever you needed. It was just kind of like a blank check from the federal government.”

The City Council had up to the end of the year to allocate the funds and until the end of 2026 to spend them.

The board weighed two options for the $9,112,825 freed up by the ARPA allocation. Under the original proposal, the money would be split between the following:

• Union Station Museums and campus — $2,500,000
• Purchase and demolition of the jail in the Municipal Plaza — $5,000,000
• All-abilities park improvement — $500,000
• Lester Park improvements — $1,042,825
• Fourth Street Park netting — $70,000

Under the alternate plan, which the council passed, the money would be divided into the following:

• Allocated for future projects — $8,000,000
• Lester Park improvements — $1,042,825
• Fourth Street Park netting — $70,000

Eller-Smith said a desire for more information led the City Council to wait on committing to the other potential projects.

“Council members haven’t seen a lot of detail or information on the Union Station and this was the first time they heard about the possibility of purchasing the jail from the county,” she said. “They also haven’t received much information about the general park improvements. They just took that $8 million … and just put it in the CIP to just hold for future projects. It might go to the three projects that the administration recommended; it might go to something else.”

In total, Ogden City was awarded $25,612,825 in 2021. Other past allocations have included $1,347,400 for public safety radios, $1,300,000 in community grants, $300,000 for community cleanup, $1,400,000 towards construction of the Marshall White Center and $12 million for the construction of the new Ogden Canyon waterline.