Holly Pond Mayor Carla Hart speaks to the Holly Pond Town Council, during the March 1 meeting, with Councilman Paul Brown.

Holly Pond has found an early use for funds the town is receiving through the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress earlier this year. Already casting about for way to fund needed repairs at its waste water treatment facility, the town learned those same repairs qualify for funding under the terms of the law.

An early Rescue Act payment of more than $98,000 has been disbursed to Holly Pond, and at its regular meeting this week, the town council agreed to allocate approximately $16,300 of that money for repairs at the sewer plant, which was constructed in the 1980s. “We’re getting a new shaft, which is a $9,300 expenditure, and we’re also getting a new pump, which is costing a little over $7,000, that has needed to be replaced,” mayor Carla Hart explained.

Other local municipalities are discussing ways to spend their sizable share of Rescue Act funds, which are limited by state guidelines from being used for general infrastructure projects like roads. Though Holly Pond’s sewer repairs qualify under those guidelines, the town is still left with more than $70,000 in remaining money that will need to be allocated for other projects.

Hart said the council is taking a slow and deliberate approach to deciding how to best use the money.

“There are some stipulations that are pretty definite. I know there’s got to be a lot of other items that we can spend it on, and we’re trying to do a little research on that,” she said. “The council and I are going to dig as much as we can to see how it can be spent. We don’t have to spend it right away; we’re not in a time crunch. We’ll use the time we have to sit down and research.”

In other business at its regular meeting this week, the council:

Agreed to hire a part time maintenance employee for general upkeep of town facilities.

Approved new signage warning against illegal loitering, littering, and fishing at town parks.

Approved a $3,950 purchase for new cabinets at the Holly Pond Event Center, the soon-to-open venue at the site of the former Carpenter’s Cabinet. Hart said she also is pricing new appliances at the center, which the town plans to rent out for club meetings, birthday parties, reunions, and other community events.

Approved the purchase of a new refrigerator and ceiling tiles at the Lions Club building, which is serving as a temporary venue for senior events while the town moves forward with plans to construct a dedicated new senior center.