A wide variety of park upgrade and improvement projects in El Paso will soon see work, thanks to more than $154 million in federal support.
Members of the El Paso City Council have given their approval to using funds from the big American Rescue Plan Act stimulus for a variety of health, facility, and infrastructure initiatives.
As approved by the council, some $6 million will go for the reconstruction of two dozen tennis and basketball courts across the city, along with the resurfacing of another 16 tennis courts and 4 basketball courts.
The number of individual tennis and basketball courts in individual El Paso parks varies between one and 4.
That $6 million will also go for replacing some seven playground areas deemed as “sub-standard.” Those playgrounds are used exclusively for children aged 2 to 12.
According to city documents, El Paso has to date received nearly $400 million in pandemic relief-related funds, including $119 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds; and the $154 million in ARPA support.
Signed into law last March by President Biden, the American Rescue Plan has been funded to the tune of $1.9 trillion, and has also been often used to help state, local and tribal governments weather the fiscal burdens of Covid 19 and the subsequent national economic shutdown.
According to a report issued by the Brookings Institution, just over 150 large cities and counties as of April had used ARPA funds for some 2,300 local projects.
By Garry Boulard
