Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and other local government officials gathered at the Seneca Park Zoo on Saturday to talk about plans for allocating $144 million in federal stimulus dollars.
The funding is part of the American Rescue Plan Act, also known as ARPA.
Bello said the effort to revamp the comprehensive plan will build on research and feedback that has already been collected over a number of years.
“From these 12 documents, we identified six priority areas to invest our ARPA dollars, they’re public safety, public health and wellness, economic recovery, workforce development, infrastructure improvements, and sustainability. But now we need to hear from you. It's your opportunity to build community and that you want and need,” said Bello.
Bello said that his administration wants input from county residents. There will be both in-person and virtual forums starting later this month. There will also be a community-wide survey posted soon on the www.monroecounty.gov website.
Bello also talked about plans to update the county’s comprehensive plan, something he said hasn’t been done in about 40 years.
He said the county, “will use the information we gather from public feedback efforts, combine that with additional in-depth community engagement that will guide our community for the next 200 years.”
Monroe County is currently celebrating its bicentennial and Bello says that celebration will continue into next year.
