The Garvin County Board of Commissioners is moving forward with plans to potentially make renovations to the county fairgrounds with a portion of the $5.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act money allocated to the county, after receiving clarification on eligible expenditures last week.
As part of the board’s regular meeting on Jan. 31, commissioners and other county officials met by Zoom with Carolina Van Horn of Witt O’Brien’s, the consulting firm hired by the county last year to help them properly administer the ARPA funds. The county has previously worked with the firm on expenditures related to CARES Act funds.
Van Horn gave short presentation on allowable uses for Local Fiscal Recovery funds under ARPA.
She said in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic the federal government distributed relief funds under the CARES Act and those were largely intended to help with initial response to the pandemic, whereas Local Fiscal Recovery funds under ARPA are intended to aid communities in recovery.
“Now that we are two years into this pandemic, the federal government is really thinking much more about what does the long-term recovery look like? How do we help communities bounce back? Get back to a place that looks more like where they were before, but in fact, not just that but a place that’s better than they were before so that the community is better able to respond,” Van Horn said.
ARPA funds have more expectations and regulations attached to them, and communities have a longer time frame to plan projects to spend funds on, according to Van Horn. The act requires Local Fiscal Recovery funds be obligated by the end of 2024 and spent by 2026.
Van Horn said generally ARPA expenses need to fall into one of four main categories. Those are: response to public health emergency or negative economic impacts; premium pay or compensation to support workers who were essential to getting the community through the pandemic – particularly those who are in a position that makes it difficult to recover on their own; provision of government services and loss of revenue; and necessary investments in water, sewer, and broadband.
The majority of the projects Garvin County is considering could fall under the most flexible category of “provision of government services,” according to Van Horn.
“Provision of government services is really anything where the county is providing a service to your community,” Van Horn said.
The provision of government services allowance is also tied to lost revenue, she added. Many communities have lost revenue during the pandemic and with the added burden of further pandemic costs are now feeling cash strapped. The idea, Van Horn said, is to provide funds to help maintain continuity of operations within the county and continue to provide services citizens need.
Costs that have been enumerated by the U.S. Treasury Department and would be included under provision of government services include construction of schools, hospitals, transportation infrastructure, health care services, government administration, fire, police and safety infrastructure including capital expenses like purchase of police vehicles, and modernization for cybersecurity.
Van Horn said generally communities are steering away from projects like schools and hospitals because many of those entities are already receiving pandemic relief funds of their own.
“There are a lot of agencies and entities receiving federal dollars as part of these programs. So we really want to make sure that before you all commit to any expenses that we are really doing due diligence to make sure that those are necessary and that there is an unmet need there and that we would not be funding something that already has existing funding sources, where you could be better using these dollars,” Van Horn said.
County Commissioners have expressed interest in renovating buildings at the county fairgrounds including replacing leaking roofs, adding heat and air conditioning, remodeling the existing kitchen area and adding shower facilities.
The renovations would allow the fairground buildings to be a hub of sorts for the county, potentially being used for PPE storage, mass testing and immunization clinics, staging distribution of medicines and PPE in the county, and providing a space for emergency shelter use by organizations like the Red Cross. The improvements would also benefit the county fair, livestock shows, and other events held at the fairgrounds, creating a positive impact on economic recovery for the county.
Van Horn weighed in on the proposed project, saying the fairgrounds have “been a really critical piece of infrastructure for the county in terms of doing COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites, so making investments in your fairgrounds is absolutely a cost that could come under the provision of government services.”
“I think there is a very good path forward to being able to use these funds to make those investments. Obviously we’ll want to make sure that we do the due diligence to make sure we can achieve compliance on that, but I do think… particularly given the nexus to COVID-19 because of the use of the fairgrounds as they relate to the response and recovery, that that could be a good item for consideration if the commission so chooses,” Van Horn said.
Commissioners are also planning to use ARPA funds to make modifications or additions to the county health department building to incorporate a covered drivethrough or drive-in area for testing and vaccination at that location.
Other possible uses the board inquired about included vehicles for emergency management use and the Sheriff’s department, assistance to senior citizens or senior sites and county equipment for roads and maintenance. Van Horn said all of those could be eligible under the appropriate conditions and as long as they relate to service the county provides.