ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Alderwoman Pam Boyd (Ward 13) fears fraud concerns may cause the City of St. Louis to lose tens of millions of federal pandemic relief funds, known as ARPA funds, earmarked for struggling north St. Louis.
The city has allocated $37 million in ARPA funds to help revitalize north St. Louis. Critics say there’s something fishy about how the cash is being handed out.
Records from the city’s development arm, the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), show grants have been awarded to 437 applicants totaling more than $33 million so far.
A number of the grant awards have raised eyebrows among aldermen and applicants who were denied grants.
For instance, $50,000 has been awarded to a school of life skills for struggling residents and $25,000 for a Mississippi River Museum.
The addresses listed for each are properties that do not appear to be occupied.
Both have unpaid property taxes.
Mayor Tishaura Jones has been passionate about investing in north St. Louis after decades of what she calls decades of intentional “disinvestment.”
She defends the program even with an admission from SLDC that the process has been flawed and deep concerns raised by City Comptroller Darlene Green.
“As comptroller, I urge SLDC to get it right,” Green said.
FOX 2 asked Mayor Jones whether the potential loss of millions of dollars to fraud was acceptable.
“Are we taking the same scrutiny toward developers who have bought acres and acres of land and sat on them for two or more decades?” she responded. “Are we taking that same sort of scrutiny toward them? When they buy buildings in the city and they sit on them and they don’t develop them, are we taking that same sort of scrutiny toward them as well? I would say what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”
Aldermanic President Darlene Green says SLDC staff will now visit the address of each grant awardee before any money gets out.
“Some alarm bells are getting raised that don’t necessarily need to get raised. I think what’s been misunderstood is that money has not gone out the door yet,” she said.
Still, Boyd says she fears the federal government may claw back at least a portion of the funding. She’s calling for an audit of the grant process.
