IRMO, S.C. — The town of Irmo just received its second round of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds amounting to $2.5M. And a lot can be done with that amount of money.
It's the latest direct deposit the federal government is giving the town of Irmo in the form of ARPA dollars. Irmo started discussing its first allotment of $2.5M back in January of this year. This is the second $2.5 million.
"We extended our park over here. We added another ten acres to our community park. We started working on the community garden, the dog park, all those things to help the community," Irmo Mayor Barry Walker said.
This time around, Mayor Walker said he'd like to see the money continue to go toward long-term investments like police equipment and more community park renovations.
Others in the community said they would like to see some of the money go to churches.
Brannon Miller, an Irmo native, said he'd like to see about $350,000 go toward a skate park to add to his project's initial $100,000.
"We really want to get it out there to people that this is something the town of Irmo wants," Miller said. "This is something the town of Irmo needs and, not only that, but we have the support of the entire town. And if there's any way that we can get a small portion of this, it would change lives forever."
He said he's a living example of this and that skating is what changed his life as a kid.
"Because of skateboarding, it taught me that if I can't land a certain trick, I try again, try again, try again and I would sit out there and do it for hours and days, but eventually what it taught me is, if you try anything hard enough, you will succeed," Miller said.
Miller said instilling these values in kids will make them great stewards and citizens of their town as they grow up.
Residents looking to voice their opinions about how this money should be spent can go to the town of Irmo council meeting next Tuesday at 7 p.m.