A work session on Monday revealed some broad priorities Lowndes County supervisors want to set for spending the roughly $11 million it will receive in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Counties and municipalities will receive federal ARPA funds for COVID-19 pandemic relief through 2022. Those funds must be spent for purposes that fit federal guidelines by the end of 2026.
Among those guidelines are responding to the public health emergency; aid for essential workers; water, sewer and broadband projects; tourism and setting up grant programs for nonprofits.
Off the top, County Administrator Jay Fisher noted supervisors had already agreed to provide the Lowndes County Industrial Development Authority by Dec. 31 about $1.62 million to rehabilitate a water treatment plant, replace water line and to repay a CAP loan for various projects at the industrial park west of Columbus. He suggested the board consider using ARPA to cover that.
“You already committed to those projects,” Fisher said. “You told them you’d give them the money. … It’s either going to have to come from ARPA funds … or (county chief financial officer Lloyd Price) and I need to go out and borrow money for those things.”
Fisher also recommended replacing the HVAC systems at the courthouse, sheriff’s office and jail, as well as adding sheriff’s deputies to combat the increase in violent crime attributed to the pandemic. With the latter, Fisher said, the county would have to absorb those costs moving forward after 2026.
Board president Trip Hairston, who represents District 2, noted the jail also needs better facilities to house “lunacy” cases. Sheriff Eddie Hawkins told the board an inmate with mental health issues recently fought one of the guards and broke the jail’s fingerprint machine, which will cost $6,900 to replace.
“If we have an inmate who needs a padded cell, right now we can’t do that,” Hairston said.
Supervisors also broadly discussed granting ARPA funds to rural water districts and the town of Caledonia to help with water and sewer projects, as well as providing more support for Community Counseling Services and the area Homeless Coalition — either toward building a dedicated shelter or to simply support the work it is already doing.
District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks suggested partnering with a clinic to provide a mobile health unit that can target disadvantaged areas in the county.
“I think that has a lot of merit, not just for COVID but other health disparities,” Brooks said.
Brooks also floated the idea of possibly providing $1 million in county ARPA funds to help the city of Columbus revitalize Propst Park. However, he said he would like to see the city’s project plans before dedicating those funds.
“I’m not interested in putting any money in just to build some fields,” he said. “… That’s their baby. I’m interested in seeing what they’re interested in doing, and if it’s something we can work together on, that’s fine. But it’s got to be something that makes some sense.”
Jeff Smith, who represents District 4, said he would like to see $1 million go toward the county’s recreation facilities. He also wants to see public-private partnerships for housing projects in disadvantaged areas, as well as extending water and sewer access to areas of the county that don’t have it.
More than anything, Smith said, he wants to see “diversity” in the target audience for ARPA fund impact.
“I’m not for using this money just on high-dollar projects that aren’t going to trickle down to an everyday person because I don’t think then we’re doing what this money is intended to do,” he said. “… Industrial development can’t be the only place where we improve our tax base.”
Brooks agreed and was more direct.
“I think it’s important that there be some direct impact in the African American community,” he said.
The board agreed to continue working to compile its priorities into a proposal that would then be presented at public hearings. Fisher said the county’s final ARPA plan would need to account for auditing and consultant costs.
In other business Monday, the board:
■ lifted its mask mandate inside county facilities; and
■ approved the sale of a county facility on Wilcutt Road to Jimmy Graham, who submitted a high bid of $150,000 with two contingencies — the county grant an easement for the emergency siren remain on the building and that the county remove all items stored there within six months.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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