Members of the Oak Harbor City Council had mixed reactions to proposed uses for federal relief funds in a workshop March 23, with one council member saying the majority of recommendations were disappointing and failed to meet the funds’ intended purpose.

Councilmember Bryan Stucky said he was disheartened after hearing the list of recommended uses for American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funds compiled by a subcommittee responsible for investing potential uses for the money. Three of his fellow council members, Shane Hoffmire, Tara Hizon and Jim Woessner, sat on the committee.

“Personally, I’m kind of disappointed in the majority of this list,” Stucky said.

The list comprised a broad range of recommendations. Though the funds were intended to aid post-lockdown economic recovery, city finance director David Goldman said the federal government loosened ARPA restrictions for small governments receiving less than $10 million, allowing them to put the money toward the “provision of government services,” with some stipulations.

The ARPA subcommittee’s recommendations included such expenditures as sewer line replacements, a marina dredging feasibility study, new generators at city hall and the senior center, addition of a temporary economic development staff position and the construction of Serendipity Lane, a walkable corridor connecting Pioneer Way and Bayshore Drive.

While some items, such as the sewer maintenance and economic development staffer made sense to Stucky, he was not sold on others, such as the generators, the dredging study or Serendipity Lane. He said the latter items and many others recommended by the subcommittee failed to yield any demonstrable economic benefit for Oak Harbor residents.

“My litmus test — I don’t think that those items fit into saving the average citizen money or improving the quality of life of the average citizen,” he said.

Some recommendations about which Stucky appeared more enthusiastic were new police technology. Oak Harbor police Chief Kevin Dresker addressed the council about the gadgets requested by the police department, namely a robot, a drone and a virtual reality training system.

The $50,000 “Use of Force” virtual reality training system would help prepare officers to respond to dangerous encounters, including training in de-escalation tactics, Dresker said. The $35,000 robot could protect officers by entering dangerous situations, such as the home of an armed suspect, ahead of them, allowing them to monitor a situation from a distance and mitigating escalation. The drone, also $35,000, could be used similarly and assist in searches and documentation of crime scenes.

The total $120,000 price tag for these systems represents around 1.8% of the approximately $6,585,000 of ARPA funds allocated to the city.

The agenda for an upcoming council meeting April 5 indicates the council is likely to approve the police department’s funding requests, though Dresker told the News-Times that he will ask the council to hold off on approving the funds for the robot, as he is still researching the possibility of assembling a robot from Navy surplus material at a cheaper cost.

Dresker also said he will ask the council to approve an additional $20,000 of virtual reality equipment that would allow two officers to train in a simulation together.

The council debated the merits of the ARPA committee’s other recommendations during the March 23 meeting. Like Stucky, Mayor Pro Tem Beth Munns seemed to find some of the list items not in keeping with the purpose of the ARPA funds, calling them “wishlist stuff being picked off and paid for.” However, one recommendation she ardently championed was a city-wide air duct cleaning and installation of filtration systems.

She said city employees work in old buildings where mold builds up easily in ducts.

“I think this is putting money for the safety of our citizens,” she said. “I think this item is really important.”

Councilmember Dan Evans agreed, adding that the cleaning, which is supposed to take place every five years, should not be a one-time thing.

“If the health of our employees and our citizens are important, then if we’re going to fund this, we should also have a schedule to maintain it, otherwise we’re just pretending that we care,” he said.

Another recommendation that generated discussion among council members was the addition of a two-year staff member to focus on economic development in the city. City Administrator Blaine Oborn said hiring an economic development staff position had been a priority for the council a few years ago, but there was no room in the budget.

Councilmember Eric Marshall questioned what that person’s goals would be and whether two years would be enough time for him or her to make an impact. Woessner said an economic development staff member would serve as a liaison between developers and the city.

The economic development coordinator would also need to be proactive in reaching out to businesses and incentivizing them to come to Oak Harbor. Waiting and hoping for businesses to just show up, Woessner said, will not yield results.

Munns agreed that proactivity is key on this front.

“If you don’t have someone trying to bring in development to you, it’s not going to happen,” she said.