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St. Louis Park so far has used little of its $2.57 million ARPA allocation, only recently spending $5,600 on masks and $76,000 on gift cards to local restaurants as vaccination incentives. City officials are hosting planning sessions to figure out how to spend the rest, City Manager Kim Keller said, whether on nonprofit proposals, infrastructure projects or keeping down future levy increases. "There's a piece of wanting to hold back a little bit to better understand what other dollars are flowing, so that we can best fill those gaps for the community," Keller said. While CARES Act dollars went out immediately for rent and food assistance and to cover revenue losses, she said, "With these dollars, we're wanting to dedicate to more kind of chronic issues." Stillwater will have $2.1 million in ARPA funds with this year's allocation, but nothing has been spent. City Council Member David Junker said that the spending question has come up at several council meetings but that there's no plan yet. City leaders want to keep their options open and know that they have until the end of 2024 to decide. "We're not really throwing anything on the table," he said. Keeping the water running Some cities have taken a practical approach to spending. Fridley used its first ARPA allocation, $1.52 million, to upgrade and repair its water distribution system and wastewater and storm water infrastructure, said Public Works Director Jim Kosluchar. Over the next three years, Fridley hopes to use the next allocation of $1.52 million to improve security at water treatment plants, rebuild its water distribution system, and on sanitary sewer and water quality projects. "It's not glorious, but we want to keep things running smoothly," Kosluchar said, noting that some city utility lines are approaching 70 years old. Using ARPA funding means the city won't have to bond for future improvements and can keep utility costs down, he said. "Everybody will save something." In Eagan, "lost revenue has really been the key component" in deciding how to spend the city's ARPA funds, said Finance Director Josh Feldman. Eagan so far has earmarked about $4 million of its $6.9 million ARPA funds for specific purposes, including $1.4 million to replace lost revenue from recreational assets like Cascade Bay water park, the civic arena and the community center. City officials plan to spend about $100,000 on a new well at Blackhawk Park and more than $800,000 on an improved HVAC system at the community center.