Floyd County issues final report on ARPA dollars spending

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Floyd County supervisors approved the final report on how the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds have been spent, at their regular meeting Monday morning, March 31.

Floyd County received $3,038,275 in ARPA funds as part of the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package to support the nation’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than two-thirds of the county’s allotment went to pay for expenses having to do with the Floyd County Law Enforcement Center and courthouse renovation project.

A total of $2,385,675 – or 78.5% of the ARPA money available – went to the project or project-related expenses.

The largest single part of that, $2,051,427, went toward direct construction costs for the project. Other big ticket ARPA-funded items related to the project included:

• Courthouse asbestos abatement – $120,342.

• Courthouse rewiring – $64,310.

• Courthouse third and fourth floor plaster work – $59,521.

• Sidewalk repairs – $26,300.

• Hand dryers in the new handicapped-accessible restrooms on each floor in the atrium – $21,610.

The single biggest ARPA expense outside the Law Enforcement Center and courthouse project was for the Recorder’s Office and Auditor’s Office, which received $221,140 to scan and digitize books of various county records, to create electronic backups and to make some of them available online.

ARPA funds also went to three projects for Floyd County Conservation for a total of $169,366:

• Camping pads at Tosanak Recreation Area – $151,900.

• Handicapped-accessible exterior doors at the Fossil and Prairie Park Center – $15,049.

• Renovations at the Darling Cabin at Tosanak – $2,417.

The Sheriff’s Office received $146,121 toward the purchase of three squad cars and upfit with radios, lights, etc.

And the Floyd County Department of Public Health and Home Health Care received $43,184 for the purchase and installation of an emergency backup generator to supply power to the Public Health offices during an outage, especially to provide power to refrigeration where vaccines are stored.

When ARPA funds were first distributed, they came with specific spending categories focused on pandemic response, economic recovery, infrastructure and support for households and small businesses.

However, the allowable uses were later broadened, allowing governments to use up to $10 million on almost any general government purpose, with a few limitations such as not funding pensions, not paying for legal settlements or judgments, not offsetting tax cuts or paying down debt.

The amount each city, county and state received depended on population, unemployment rates and other demographic and economic data.

All funds had to be spent by March 31, and Floyd County spent the last of the ARPA funds, $74,674.37, as part of a payment last week to finish the retainage payment to The Samuels Group, the construction management company for the LEC and courthouse project.