Lakeville – Some Lakeville facilities will be getting a makeover in the near future, thanks to federal aid money.

These funds will be used to build an addition on the Council on Aging’s food pantry, replace the fire department’s breathing apparatus fill station, and repair the town hall roof, among other items, the Select Board decided at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The town has a total of $818,384 of American Rescue Plan Act funding, commonly known as ARPA, available through Plymouth County, according to Interim Town Administrator Robert Nunes. ARPA funds were initially given out during the pandemic to provide economic assistance to state and local governments. 

After reviewing a long list of requests, Select Board members approved the use of these funds for several of Lakeville’s facilities and roads. Funding of these projects can come through Plymouth County, or directly from the federal government, explained Chair Lorraine Carboni.

During the meeting, members voted to use Plymouth County ARPA funds to pay for the construction of an addition to the Council on Aging's food pantry, which will cost an estimated $250,000, according to town estimates. 

In addition, the board voted to use state funds to replace the fire department’s SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) fill stations. Fire Chief Michael O’Brien said: “The SBCA fill station we have is end of life. We are filling bottles in Berkley and Raynham.”

Replacing the existing fill stations will cost more than $100,000, according to town documents. Board members questioned whether it made sense to replace the fill station in the current facility, on account of the plans to build a new fire station. 

O’Brien said that the fill station could be installed in the existing facility and transferred to the new one.   

Other items that the Select Board approved funding for include repairs to the Town Hall roof, the purchase of a transport trailer for the fire department, and repairs to seal cracks in town roads. These items will cost $10,000, $9,800 and over $60,000 respectively, per town estimates.   

The board decided to postpone decision-making on remaining capital project requests that were submitted for funding until its next meeting on April 22.