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A resolution appropriating $400,125 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Fund #30216 to WeGo, in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to allow students, faculty and staff access to public transportation.
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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 access to reduced cost of public transportation for students, faculty and staff of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU); and,
WHEREAS, WeGo, in partnership with these HBCUs, seeks funding for a pilot project, WeGoRide, as described in Exhibit A, to allow students, faculty and staff public transit access using American Rescue Plan funds; 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 $400,125 from the Covid-19 American Rescue Plan Fund #30216 is hereby appropriated to WeGo, in partnership with HBCUs, to allow students, faculty and staff public transportation access, to be used to administer the program described in Exhibit A.
Section 3. Quarterly reporting from WeGo to the COVID-19 Oversight Committee is required. The required information includes but is not limited to the following:
a. Accounting of all grant funds, including identification of grant fund recipients
b. Use of funds and balance of funds remaining from the $400,125 allocation
c. Program results that at a minimum include ridership numbers separated out for each HBCU described in Exhibit A
Section 4. This resolution shall take effect from and after its final passage, the welfare of the public requiring it.
Agenda Analysis
Analysis
This resolution appropriates $400,125 in American Rescue Plan Act (“ARP”) funds from Fund #30216 to be allocated to WeGo, in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (“HBCUs”) to allow students, faculty, and staff access to public transportation.
This funding will be used to provide unlimited free rides to all students, faculty, and staff at participating HBCUs in Nashville. The program funding is based on the assumption that all students, faculty, and staff at each institution will actively use the program. The participating HBCUs and the estimated annual cost to utilize the program, based upon students, faculty, and staff at the institution, are as follows:
• Tennessee State University - $238,875
• Fisk University -- $30,000
• Meharry Medical College -- $25,000
• American Baptist College -- $6,250
WeGo will be required to report quarterly to the COVID-19 Oversight Committee. The required information includes, but is not limited to, accounting of all grant funds, including identification of grant fund recipients, the use of funds and balance of fund remaining from the original allocation, and program results, including at a minimum the ridership numbers separated out for each HBCU involved in the program.
Fiscal Note: This $400,125 appropriation, along with the appropriations per Resolutions No. RS2023-2143, RS2023-2145 and RS2023-2146 would be the 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd resolutions appropriating from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARP) Fund for a cumulative total of $255,784,599. 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.