Norwich — Residents and business owners gave broad recommendations to city leaders Monday on how to spend the city’s nearly $30 million federal American Rescue Plan dollars.

Requests for funds included support for immigrants, Mohegan Park improvements, help for small businesses and a plea to clean up city streets.

Russ Howard said he recently moved to Norwich and has been walking through his East Side neighborhood. “It doesn’t look pretty,” he told the City Council. Street signs are obstructed, bent or broken and poorly lit, he said.

“I contacted the Public Works Department on simple things,” he said, “and they basically tell me they’re short staffed and they don’t have enough resources to hardly do anything, except emergencies. ... So, you probably should allocate some money for the Public Works Department, because the city is a mess.”

The City Council is slated to vote on City Manager John Salomone's first year ARP spending plan Sept. 7.

He has proposed $2 million to the Norwich Community Development Corp. for economic revitalization. Conditional upon City Council approval, NCDC last week approved a $400,000 grant and $400,000 loan to assist an $8.8 million redevelopment of a two-building complex at 77-91 Main St.

Resident Brian Kobylarz said renovating a long-vacant building is not COVID-19 recovery.

“That’s recovery from a bad economic history here in the city,” he said. He and others complained the city manager’s plan had no money to assist small businesses.

NCDC President Kevin Brown on Tuesday pledged that small businesses would be included in the $2 million program, including a planned “vanilla box” program to make storefronts ready to be fitted out for businesses.

Joseph Marino, representing the New London-based Immigration Advocacy & Support Center, which provides legal services to local immigrants, asked the Norwich City Council to consider a grant of $15,820 to hire staff, including a bilingual Haitian Creole speaker, to support services to Norwich immigrants. Marino said about 40% of the agency's clients are from Norwich.

Resident Elanah Sherman, former chairwoman of the city Commission for Persons with Disabilities, asked the city to improve access for people with disabilities, such as closed captioning for City Council meeting broadcasts.

Sherman also asked the city to invest in open space acquisitions, possibly including a collaboration with Avalonia Land Conservancy, which recently acquired 47 acres on North Wawecus Hill Road.

Sherman also said the city should invest in housing and homeownership. Salomone's plan includes a $1.2 million partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut to build and renovate affordable housing.

Beryl Fishbone, chairwoman of the Mohegan Park Improvements and Development Advisory Committee, said Salomone's plan ignored the city’s largest park, which has 500 acres of woods, playgrounds, walking trails, a beach and pavilions. Fishbone said Mohegan Park’s new nine-hole disc golf course has been busy every day since it opened in April.

Fishbone asked for $200,000 in ARP funds for Mohegan Park, with $120,000 to upgrade the toddler playground near Spaulding Pond Beach, $50,000 to install a fitness station course and $30,000 to expand the disc golf course to 18 holes.

She said the disc golf course, built by volunteers, has prompted the Skate Shop in Greeneville to sell disc golf equipment, and local businesses have been selling Mohegan Park Disc Golf Course T-shirts.

“During the course of the pandemic, Mohegan Park trails were busier than ever before,” Fishbone said. “Our park gave residents and visitors to our city the opportunity to safely get fresh air and exercise, and this is also a project that falls under the ARP guidelines for community recovery.”

c.bessette@theday.com

Norwich Democrats to host forums for comments on American Rescue Plan

The Norwich City Council Democratic caucus will host two online public forums and one in-person discussion for residents and business owners to give input on the city’s plan to spend the first $9 million in federal American Rescue Plan grant money.

Wednesday, Sept. 1, via Zoom, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Meeting ID: 852 0527 5488. Mobile number: 13017158592 (followed by the meeting ID).

Saturday, Sept. 4, Howard T. Brown Memorial Park at Norwich Harbor, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. as part of Rose City United community chat with local police.

Sunday, Sept. 5, via Zoom, 2:30 to 4 p.m. Meeting ID: 886 2314 9514. Mobile number: 13017158592 (followed by the meeting ID).

Written comments can be submitted to Alderman Derell Wilson, dwilson@cityofnorwich.org.