The City’s Mental Health Response Team (MHRT) is an innovative co-response team consisting of Fort Collins police officers and UCHealth clinicians. The team works together to provide critical care to those experiencing mental and/or behavioral health issues before, during, and after crisis calls. ARPA funds were used to accelerate build-out of the team.

As of January 2023, staffing costs for this team are being covered by General Funds, however ARPA funding continues to cover programmatic costs such as training, outreach and equipment. 

More Information about this Team

This program supports the creation of innovative teen/young adult diversion programs and competency evaluations involving defendants with mental illness and/or substance use disorders in the City’s Municipal Court. The pandemic exacerbated mental and behavioral health issues, stretching already under-resourced programs and resources. It also highlighted gaps in available resources and the lack of pathways to access resources. The projects funded under this program seek to reduce those barriers.

Competency Evaluation: Funding covers the costs of competency evaluations for Municipal Court clients. To date nearly four dozen evaluations have been performed, in some cases leading to charge dismissal.

Restorative Traffic Circle: Teens and young adults (aged 21 and under) who have serious traffic infractions and misdemeanors can deal with their charges in a more meaningful way through the Restorative Traffic Circle program. Participants work with court staff, first responders, family members and community members to learn about the impact of unsafe driving and are encouraged to adopt safer driving behaviors. If they successfully complete the program, their original charge(s) is (are) dismissed. Of graduates, the vast majority (more than 80%) have not received a new traffic violation since program completion.

This program provides grant funding to nonprofits and other local partners who serve vulnerable community members. The City has long provided grant funding to local nonprofits and community partners. These organizations have the expertise and experience to best serve residents in need. This additional funding increases capacity for social services programs throughout Fort Collins.  

In 2024, nine organizations were awarded funding though the Social Services Recovery Program. Funded programs included: 

• Behavioral Health Team / programing at Boys and Girls Clubs. 
• Housing stability program through CARE Communities (previously CARE Housing).
• Mobile Food Pantry at Poudre High School.  

The Reduced Fee Scholarship Program provides low-income, vulnerable and underserved community members access to recreation facilities, recreation programs and childcare services. This program lowers barriers and expands opportunities for all members of the Fort Collins community to participate in recreation programming and benefit from the positive mental and physical impacts it has on health.

Funding for this program comes from ARPA dollars, other recreation funds and philanthropic donations. Demand for this program far exceeds funding annually, so the increased financial support from ARPA is critical for serving additional community members.

More Information About this Program

Funds to purchase electric handheld lawn and garden equipment for use in parks and cemeteries. Electric lawn and garden equipment produces lower emissions than gas-powered equipment, helping improve air quality for community members and staff.  

The Cultural Services Access Fund provides qualifying community members with access to enriching art and cultural experiences at City of Fort Collins cultural facilities including The Lincoln Center, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery and The Gardens on Spring Creek. Specifically funded programs include free field trips for Title 1 schools, free performances at facilities, camp scholarships and free facility use. Funds have also allowed each facility to become more welcoming to Spanish-speaking visitors through the translation of materials and signage.

Typically, this program has been funded by contributions from nonprofit partners, grants and limited City funds. ARPA funding has significantly expanded the program, allowing additional community members to access Cultural Facilities. 

TecGen gear is reusable PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) that protects firefighters from exposure to bodily fluids, chemicals, COVID-19 variants, and other illnesses. This gear is more durable than the plastic gowns used on COVID-19 related calls in 2020 and 2021. It allows first responders to do their job more safely while on emergency calls. Funding this upgraded gear with ARPA dollars meant first responders were equipped with better gear faster.  

Future gear replacements, including gear for volunteer firefighters will be funded with non-ARPA funds.

This program is contributing to housing stability for local individuals and families. Eviction and risk of eviction are still high even as other pandemic impacts subside. Local BIPOC community members, Spanish-speaking residents, people with disabilities and low-income households are disproportionally impacted as they experience higher rental costs, lower income levels and higher rates of poverty.

This program provides eviction prevention education and support, with the majority of funds going to local community partners who specialize in this work. This program supports both renters and landlords. Specific services provided through this program include:

• Eviction Legal Clinics
• “Know Your Rights” Training
• Direct Client Representation
• Inclusive Educational Outreach
• Eviction-focused training for Mediations and Restorative Justice staff and volunteers

The City has used ARPA dollars to fund a variety of different programming related to homelessness in Fort Collins. This additional funding helped slow the growth of homelessness in Fort Collins since 2020, in contrast to many communities across the nation.  It continues to provide critical support to those experiencing homelessness locally, providing shelter, resource and housing navigation and other core services.

The majority of this funding was granted to nonprofits and community partners who provide services and programming directly to people experiencing homelessness. The strategies being funded are proven to reduce the likelihood of prolonged or chronic homelessness. Specific initiatives funded include:

• Expansion of Outreach Fort Collins to include street outreach coverage of midtown and north Fort Collins.
• Increased Case Management and Resource Navigation to connect individuals with crucial resources and services, including housing.
• 24/7 Sheltering: Access to 24/7 shelter provides better outcomes for people experiencing homelessness because of increased stability due to daytime shelter access.
• Expanded Seasonal Overflow Shelter to support more individuals during extreme weather.
• Rapid Rehousing Programming: Short-term rental assistance and services so people can obtain housing quickly and increase self-sufficiency.
• Murphy Center: Funding to support expanded hours and general operations to increase access to core services.

More about the City's efforts to combat homelessness

This program provides funds to support the City’s Land Bank. The Land Bank is a long-term affordable housing tool that helps ensure land will be available in the future to increase the stock of affordable housing units. With these funds, staff anticipate purchasing 5 acres to build at least 100 homes. 

Funding this project with ARPA funds frees up additional City funding to support other local affordable housing initiatives, allowing more housing projects.

Learn More About this Program

This program provides funding for the development of the Heartside Hill project in southeast Fort Collins. This development is being funded in partnership with local, regional and state partners and has already broken ground. The project will create 71 new units of affordable rental housing in Fort Collins.

This program aims to provide accessible opportunities for community members to experience and engage with local arts and culture.  It also supports the local creative sector by engaging artists from varied social, socio-economic, and ethnic identities and communities. The following approaches are used by the program:

• Pop-Up performances: Artists and creatives pop-up in public spaces such as along trails, in parks or within neighborhoods so community members can experience art where they already are. Example: Let’s Ride musicians and artist pop ups at Transfort stations and bus stops.
• Supporting events: Hiring artists to support events planned by nonprofits and other community groups whose event aligns with the Cultural Community Program’s mission. Example: Compensating artists performing during the Latiné and Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at the Gardens on Spring Creek.
• Co-Creation: Working alongside community members and artists to co-create initiatives that meet program goals. Example: Our Animal Body, a collaborative community poetry project led by a community-based artist team.
• Curation: The program seeks to highlight a diverse range of creative people and artistic disciplines.

Learn More About this Program

Art to Live provides grants to local creatives (artists, designers, musicians, etc.), who were significantly impacted by the pandemic. The goal of this program is to financially support and foster local working artists, who then offer free opportunities for community members to experience art.

Learn More About this Program

Funding to expand, systematize and enhance engagement with diverse groups, including those who have been historically underserved and most impacted by the pandemic.

These efforts not only support the recovery outcome of fostering a sense of belonging and trust within the community (specifically between the City and the public), but also help those who have been historically left out of decision-making have their voices heard.

Thus far, funding has been used to purchase upgraded interpretation equipment for use at engagement events and meetings. It is also being used to support the development of updated Community Engagement and Language Access Guides.

Staff and consultants are working with local community partners to vet these guides and ensure they align with community needs to have more inclusive and accessible participation with local government.

This program provides funding for Spanish interpretation at City Council meetings and high-priority civic engagement events. This work helps create more equitable civic engagement, facilitating collaboration on local projects, problem-solving and collective decision making.

This program works directly with the Fort Collins Native American community and local Native-serving nonprofits to build relationships, conduct community engagement, and support community-led initiatives.

The Native community has been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic and has historically been underserved by the City. Building strong and trusting relationships with Native community members to address impacts from the pandemic and issues that have long impacted the local Indigenous community is a priority.

The Equity Grant Fund provides awards to local individuals, nonprofits and community partners to support community-led work that assists those impacted by the pandemic, including youth, older adults, LGBTQIA+ individuals, veterans and other historically underserved groups.

Funded initiatives include:

• Bilingual navigation programming for immigrants at Alianza Norco.
• Subsidized rent for local community organizations at United Way of Larimer County Community Impact Center.
• Yarrow Collective youth Seed Circles and Xinachtli programming.
• Increased staffing support at Vindeket Foods.
• Support for Fuerza Latina programming including Community Empowerment Clinics.
• Neighbor to Neighbor housing assistance program.
• ISAAC Adelante Youth Fellowship Program expansion.

This program provides grants to organizations hosting local events to help cover security and safety costs.  Many events continue to struggle to return after cancellations in 2020 and 2021 since they often rely on funding generated from a previous year’s event to fund subsequent years. This model was disrupted by the pandemic, and increased costs persist.

Events – be it a marathon, music festival, craft fair, or Earth Day celebration – are a vital part of the culture of Fort Collins, helping create a more vibrant community. Subsidizing costs of required safety and security measures through this grant enables them to be held.

Funds for this project supported activities to connect community members together and create a sense of belonging. Dollars supported improvements to the popular Adopt a Neighbor volunteer program, allowing community members to more easily connect with those in need, and funded Asphalt Art projects, activities that increase connection in neighborhoods.

Adopt a Neighbor: Funding was used to update software for the City’s volunteer site (Engage) to establish a “bulletin board” matching system. This system is more efficient than the previous manual staff matching process. Overall, the time to match volunteers has significantly decreased since this upgrade – allowing residents in need to get connected more quickly to volunteers willing to serve. Learn more about this program.

Asphalt Art: Asphalt Art is an outdoor, community-led project that fosters connection between residents and enhances the unique character of neighborhoods – building a stronger sense of place and community.

This program provides subsidies to developers building affordable housing projects within Fort Collins, increasing the amount of affordable housing available. The homes supported with affordable housing fee credits will be deed restricted for at least 30 years, some for 40 years, providing homes to generations of low wage-earning households.

The dedicated ARPA funding for this program allowed staff to pilot the administrative processing of affordable housing fee credits. This saved time and effort by City Council, developers and City staff. This pilot program was considered a success and City Code was amended to include this process when funding is appropriated.

More Information About this Program

This program provided direct financial assistance to Fort Collins Utilities customers struggling to pay bills due to the pandemic. ARPA funds were combined with funds from Platte River Power Authority to support both residential and commercial customers in need.

Funding to support the establishment and expansion of an Equity and Inclusion Office in the City, which coordinates equity and inclusion efforts and works to strengthen relationships with historically underserved groups and community partners. 

As of 2023, ongoing work for the Equity and Inclusion Office is being funded by non-ARPA dollars. 

More about the Equity & Inclusion Office

The Multicultural Business and Entrepreneur Center (MBEC) provides support, training and resources for local businesses and entrepreneurs of all sizes, with a specific focus on providing support for historically underserved community members.

Funded in 2021 and launched in 2022, MBEC is a free, bilingual center that provides businesses and entrepreneurs easy access to service providers, resources, mentorship and training. It is a source of critical resources for small businesses, including many new and minority owned businesses. 

This program has also been funded by ARPA dollars in the 2023-2024 budget.

More Information About this Program

This program provides enhanced and expanded technical assistance to businesses and individuals navigating the Development Review and Building Review processes with the City. Businesses, particularly smaller businesses with limited resources and those unfamiliar with review processes, require additional support to navigate, especially if changes or adjustments are required. This program helps businesses better position themselves to successfully navigate the Development Review and Building Review processes by getting the support they need for project management, site planning, surveying and design. 

This program has also been funded by ARPA dollars in the 2023-2024 budget.

Learn More About this Program

This program assists with the cost of permitted work in mobile home parks, affordable housing units and rental units within the City. Grants are provide to eligible projects that require a building permit, including:

• Upgrades to electrical wiring/outlets.
• Upgrades to water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners.
• Installation and replacement of decks, stairs, ramps and/or handrails.
• Roof repair or replacement.
• Installation of energy efficient windows.

Originally, APRA funds for this program were going to be used to purchase new software to manage online permitting. However, due to City-wide efforts to improve digital accessibility and customer experience, staff decided to pivot these funds to a grant program modeled on the successful Technical Assistance grant program and Mobile Home Park Code Compliance grant program.

Funding for code changes, professional services, consulting and public engagement efforts related to the City’s Land Use Code.  In 2023, funds supported additional public engagement efforts, allowing additional community members to share feedback about code changes.

More Information about Land Use Code Updates

The For Fort Collins campaign and website provide support to businesses impacted by the pandemic, connecting them to resources and promoting “shop local” messaging to encourage community members to support local businesses. The program engages with a diverse group of businesses and highlights the vibrant business community in the city.

Visit the For Fort Collins Webpage

Childcare systems, already strained locally, were strained even more by the pandemic, and continued to be so in 2023. By providing resources to community partners who work in the childcare space, the City can increase access to affordable, reliable childcare locally. This not only provides needed support for children but increases equity and economic stability – especially for women, who often bear the responsibility of caregiving.

In 2023, six different organizations were provided funding. Funded programs include support for childcare scholarships, workforce training and short-term respite care for children with disabilities.

This program has also been funded by ARPA dollars in the 2023-2024 budget.

City construction projects near local businesses are especially impactful on sales and success as businesses continue to experience post-pandemic economic disruption. What would have been a minor to medium impact on the businesses now becomes a major disruption on the heels of their pandemic recovery.

The Capital Project Business Liaison program provides support to businesses affected by City construction projects, ensuring they have the information, resources and support they need throughout the project. Creating this position and funding support for impacted businesses allows them to sustain themselves during disruptions and build long-term resilience. It also provides the opportunity to build relationships between the business community and City organization. This program also provides grants to businesses through the Capital Project Assistance Grant Program. This program provides grants to businesses impacted by construction projects delayed due to COVID, including businesses near the recently renovated Linden Steet.

Beginning in 2023, staffing costs for the Liaison are now covered by General Funds.

Funding to upgrade childcare spaces at the Northside Aztlan Community Center, which will allow additional children to be served through onsite youth programs. Due to increased construction costs, General Fund dollars and Recreation Reserves were used in addition to ARPA funds to cover upgrades.

Students of all ages experienced learning loss and developmental setbacks due to the pandemic and these setbacks still linger. There are many local programs working to address these setbacks and support students’ ability to make up for losses and thrive. To support this critical effort, the City funded the Learning Loss Mitigation Grant program, which provides grant funds to local partners working in this space.  In 2022, eight different organizations received grant funding and several grant projects continued into 2023.

Funds covered the development of an updated Economic Health Strategic Plan. The previous Strategic Plan did not reflect changing priorities and business needs resulting from the pandemic. Having an updated plan means the Economic Health Office (EHO) is better positioned to support businesses and the local economy in a post-pandemic world.

More About the Economic Health Office

The Economic Health Office deployed two rounds of grant funding to support businesses struggling to stabilize from the pandemic. Grants were awarded to a wide variety of businesses including food service, health and wellness, retail, artists and manufacturing. By providing grant support to small businesses, they were able to make adjustments to stabilize, financially recover and build resilience.

Specific uses for the grants include:

• Hiring experts to increase businesses’ web presence and marketing abilities.
• Purchasing specialized manufacturing tools and training to produce products locally and avoid supply chain issues.
• Train and/or hire employees to meet demand.
• Reward existing employees (bonuses, raises, etc.) to increase retention.
• Relaunching a mentorship program to increase female representation in the clean energy sector by matching women with workplace opportunities.

This program funds upgrades to HVAC systems in several City facilities that will reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and increase efficiency. Upgrading this infrastructure allows the City organization to lead by example and provide healthy, efficient and comfortable indoor spaces in facilities, many of which are accessed by vulnerable community members. 

This program includes enhanced engagement, support and code compliance for mobile home park communities. Residents of mobile home parks often do not qualify for utility rebates or programs to increase efficiency. This program is designed specifically to pilot efficiency upgrades to units, along with other repairs and updates needed for mobile home park units to meet code compliance standards. 

In 2023, work on this program centered on establishing and building relationships with community partners and mobile home park communities. Extensive planning was done with these groups to determine how to best support mobile home park communities and code compliance work. Work in 2024 will build on this planning and include additional park cleanup events and efficiency upgrade programs.

Upgrades to lighting on stages at the Lincoln Center. Converting to LED lights significantly reduces the carbon footprint of the events center and increases building efficiency.

Additionally, these energy-saving LEDs allow for a wider range of colors and effects, making performance lighting more dynamic.

Funding for critical repairs to downtown parking structures to prolong their lifespans and increase structural integrity.

This project allows the City to address needed cybersecurity updates to safeguard all City devices and users from digital attacks and phishing attempts that could hamper service delivery.   

The pandemic amplified the need to improve the City’s cyber risk management strategies. Increased hybrid work and new technologies require increased security and safety measures to avoid cybersecurity breaches. With these upgrades, the City’s virtual assets will be more secure, and employees will have a safer work environment, regardless of location.

This project focuses on improving Wi-Fi access at Cultural Services and Recreation facilities, as well as updating spaces and systems within the City organization to support secure hybrid work.

Community Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi access in public spaces is vital for many community members, especially those who do not have reliable internet at home.

Hybrid Meeting Spaces: The City’s shift to hybrid work means that meeting workspaces need to be reconfigured to accommodate hybrid meetings, and systems need to be upgraded to better handle the increased amount of IT support of hybrid work.  Updating workspaces to have these capabilities will allow the City to conduct essential business more efficiently and safely.

This program funds updated case management software for the City’s Municipal Court. Updated software that is more efficient, secure and usable for staff and community members is crucial to the operations of the Court.

Additional staff and funding to support hiring and workforce management for the City and four partner agencies. Increasing staff capacity allows HR to assist other City departments more efficiently with requests for talent so the City has the workforce needed to serve the community. HR staff have made efforts to streamline the hiring process and provide additional support to hiring managers. These improvements result in better experiences for both hiring managers and candidates. Along with staff, this program includes programmatic funds to market to qualified candidates via LinkedIn, Indeed and other hiring platforms.

This program has also been funded by ARPA dollars in the 2023-2024 budget.

Funds to support the development of a comprehensive emergency communications plan for the City that can be applied to a variety of different emergency and crisis events.

Having a centralized emergency communications plan means the City will be better able to quickly and effectively communicate crucial information to community members during emergency events. Having key information in a timely fashion allows community members to take action to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

Staff and administrative costs for the oversight and implementation of the Resilient Recovery Plan, including the deployment and monitoring of ARPA funds. 

Staffing is needed to support recovery work at all stages – development of the Recovery Plan, plan implementation, management of ARPA funds, and required compliance and reporting. Without this staffing and associated administrative costs, getting recovery-related projects launched and monitored would not be possible.

All ARPA spending must adhere to federal and City purchasing requirements, which often requires RFPs, bids and other contracting processes. In order to effectively manage this increased volume of work, the Purchasing Department needed additional capacity to handle ARPA-funded purchases and service agreements. This position supports this the increased volume of work, allowing for more efficient processing and distribution of ARPA funds.

These funds are allocated for use on transformational regional projects related to childcare and homelessness. Additional details about specific projects supported by these funds will be added as projects progress.

ARPA funds were used to support ongoing pandemic communications in 2021, as well as public outreach and engagement for the development of the Resilient Recovery Plan. 

As pandemic conditions evolved in 2021, the ability to quickly communicate with residents and businesses so they had updated information to keep themselves and their loved ones safe was critical. Additionally, public engagement efforts, including targeted engagement with groups most impacted by the pandemic, supported the creation of a community-centered recovery plan that reflects what residents want most to achieve a more resilient recovery.