At the Kosciusko County American Rescue Plan Act Committee meeting on Wednesday, July 12, in the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom are, from left: Committee member and Kosciusko County Councilwoman Sue Ann Mitchell, Committee member and Kosciusko County Commissioner Cary Groninger, Committee member and Kosciusko County Council President Mike Long and Kosciusko County Administrator Marsha McSherry. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Kosciusko County’s American Rescue Plan Act Committee is working to tie up loose ends with projects it’s already funded.

At its meeting on Wednesday, July 12, the committee agreed to send out letters to people in charge of those projects to verify the funds are spent or being spent. It also set Sept. 30, 2024, as the deadline for when entities must spend the monies.

That gives the county time to reallocate those particular ARPA monies, which total around $22,000, if needed. The committee also plans to visit the entities in question to make sure funds have been spent and get confirmation from the vendors completing the projects that work was done.

The committee’s decision Wednesday wasn’t based on actual known misuse of the funds by entities or the county, but rather the committee just making sure all the money was properly accounted for.

Per ARPA rules set by the federal government, all of those monies must be appropriated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.

If the entities assigned the money totaling $22,000 do actually spend it, the county has around $511,000 left in ARPA money.

Tower Project

The committee also discussed using some remaining ARPA money to build another public safety communications tower in the Sidney area.

There’s still a gap in coverage in that vicinity. The county already has some of the elements needed to construct a tower, which will be shorter than the other three in the county, but the total cost for putting one up will still be approximately $900,000 if it’s fully outfitted.

The committee also discussed using accumulated Economic Development Income Tax funds to pay for the tower. No formal decision was made on it Wednesday.

Amy Roe

The committee also agreed to make Amy Roe a full-time employee of the county pending the wage committee’s and Kosciusko County Council’s OK.

She’s the county’s community coordinator for the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program, helping the county and several communities within it to spend their ARPA monies on projects to better their communities.

The committee agreed to make Roe a full time employee as soon as the other entities approve it, with that employment running through the end of fiscal year 2026. Roe may continue on with the county in some other capacity full time afterward, if approved.

Roe had requested full time employment, and committee members vouched for the benefits she has brought to the area through her current role.

The committee also:

• Tabled its remaining requests for ARPA funding from nonprofits until its next meeting set to start at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, to allow more time to make a decision. That meeting will be in the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom.