MOLINE, Ill. — The City of Moline is one step closer to figuring out how to spend it’s more than $20 million dollars allotted from the federal government and the American Rescue Plan Act. The city has laid out its first rough draft of how to allocate the funds with 8 main categories.
Those categories included passenger rail service and quiet zones, Riverside Park Pool improvements, one-stop shops, bikeway installations, TaxSlayer Center improvements, broadband installations, a small business loan program and infrastructure investments to reduce flooding.
The three categories with the most money put aside included the passenger railway services with a potential $3 billion dollars set aside, the River Park Pool with about $2.75 million currently estimated out and one-stop shops at $1.5 million dollars estimated.
City administrator Bod Vitas said the council’s goal was to create change that lasts far past the next few years they have to spend the money.
“It’s a multi-year project," Vitas said. "They’ll benefit future generations.”
Vitas referred to the items on the table as "legacy projects."
“I think we’re way ahead of the game in terms of being able to deliver the programs and the projects that the citizens actually identified that they wanted in the budget for future years," Vitas said.
The city has established three main areas of focus, including the economy, infrastructure and quality of place. Vitas said the eight major improvement projects all fall into those areas.
“We’re going to try and create an environment that (citizens) would like to live in and reside in,” Vitas said.
City officials have taken what they’ve learned and heard from community members and are putting those wants at the top of the list.
“It starts by being a good listener," Vitas said. "And not only being a good listener but engaging the community.”
Alderman James Patrick Schmidt agreed with Vitas. Schmidt said it’s about taking into account those that were set back the most due to the pandemic in the past year.
“We need to focus on looking for anyone that’s really still struggling from the pandemic," Schmidt said, "and making sure we use some of those funds to fill any gaps and make sure our residents are being taken care of.”
For Schmidt, it’s important to acknowledge those areas that have slipped through the cracks over the past year.
The city has to spend all funds by December 2026. If they fail to do so, they must turn the funds back over to the federal government.
You can find the initial proposal here.