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A resolution appropriating $2,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Fund #30216 to the YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee for repairs and infrastructure improvements to the Weaver Domestic Violence Center.
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WHEREAS, on June 15, 2021, the Metropolitan Council passed Resolution RS2021-966, a resolution which accepted grant funds for local government support from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP Funds”) from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, which was subsequently signed into law by Mayor John Cooper on June 16, 2021; and,
WHEREAS, Resolution RS2021-966 established a COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee ("the Committee") whose role is to collect, consider, and recommend appropriate uses of the ARP Funds as designated by the Metropolitan Council disbursement plan. The Committee will submit its reports and recommendations to the Mayor, the Director of Finance, and the Metropolitan Council not later than June 30, 2025; and,
WHEREAS, there are federal requirements for use of ARP Funds that require that these funds be expended or obligated on or before December 31, 2024; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes the importance of providing domestic violence services in the city of Nashville; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that the Weaver Domestic Violence Center (“the Weaver Center”), which was built in 2000 on a 5-acre lot donated by the Metropolitan Council, is Nashville’s largest emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence and works closely with the Metro Office of Family Safety, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, local hospitals, and Nashville’s vast network of social service agencies to provide life-saving intervention to the community; and,
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that the Weaver Center has been forced to expand its capacity to accommodate the surge of domestic violence and trauma that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, the Committee recognizes that the Weaver Center requires various repairs and infrastructure improvements to continue to provide quality service to victims of domestic violence, as further described in Exhibit A; and,
WHEREAS, it is to the benefit of the citizens of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County that this resolution be approved.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. The Metropolitan Council accepts this resolution as a recommendation of the COVID-19 Financial Oversight Committee.
Section 2. That $2,000,000.00 from the Covid-19 American Rescue Plan Fund #30216 is hereby appropriated to the YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee to be used as described in Exhibit A.
Section 3. This resolution shall take effect from and after its final passage, the welfare of the public requiring it.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This resolution appropriates $2,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (“ARP”) funds from Fund #30216 to the YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee for repairs and infrastructure improvements to the Weaver Domestic Violence Center.
The YWCA provides domestic violence services in Nashville and Davidson County. Weaver Domestic Violence Center was built in 2000 on a five-acre lot donated by the Metropolitan Government. It works closely with the Metro Office of Family Safety, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, local hospitals, and local social service agencies to provide life-saving intervention to the community. The Weaver Center expanded capacity to accommodate the surge of domestic violence and trauma that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Weaver Center is in need of various repairs and infrastructure improvements to continue to provide quality service to victims of domestic violence.
The ARP funds requested here would be used to replace the shelter’s existing roof system, repair high-traffic kitchen areas, provide an adequate staff room for frontline workers, improve exterior infrastructure, and other projects.
Fiscal Note: This $2,000,000 appropriation, along with the appropriations per Resolution No. RS2022-1903, RS2022-1905, and RS2022-1906 would be the 41st, 42nd, 43rd and 44th resolutions appropriating from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARP) Fund for a cumulative total of $240,697,030. The total grant award is $259,810,600. The first half of this amount was received in July 2021 and the second half was received in July 2022. The grant award must be obligated by December 31, 2024 and expended by December 31, 2026.