A member that has received ARPA funds wants to use a portion of those funds to pay for certain construction projects. The ARPA funds would be used in lieu of lost revenues and/or for water, sewer, and other projects specifically allowed under ARPA. Due to some quirks of State law where this municipality is located, the City usually issues two separate contracts for construction projects, one for design services, and one for construction. State law specifically prohibits municipalities from obtaining certain professional services, including architectural and engineering services, through competitive bidding. Instead, the municipality must first select the most highly qualified provider, then attempt to negotiate a fair and reasonable price. This leads to two questions for such projects: 1. Can ARPA funds be used to procure professional services (architectural and engineering) contracts if the contracts are procured in accordance with state law prohibiting outright competitive bidding; and 2. If ARPA funds cannot be used to fund the design services contract for a project, can the ARPA funds be used to fund actual brick and mortar construction of that project so long as the construction contract is awarded via competitive bidding? Please feel free to respond to me directly at akarras@imla.org<mailto:akarras@imla.org> and I'll pass along your responses. Thank you, Amanda Amanda Kellar Karras Deputy General Counsel / Director of Legal Advocacy P: (202) 466-5424 x7116 Email: akarras@imla.org [facebook icon]<https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMunicipalLawyersAssociation/>[twitter icon]<https://twitter.com/imlalegal>[linkedin icon]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/international-municipal-lawyers-association-inc./> [logo]<https://imla.org/> 51 Monroe St. Suite 404 Rockville, MD, 20850 www.imla.org<http://www.imla.org/> Plan Ahead! IMLA's Mid-Year Seminar, April 8-11, 2022 in Washington DC! IMLA's 87th Annual Conference<https://imla.org/annual-conference/>, Oct. 19-23, 2022 in Portland, OR!