What would you do with a million and a half dollars? Anderson County Commissioners continue to explore ways to distribute $1.6 million in COVID related American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, Funding allotted to the County, to be distributed among various agencies. Commissioners earlier approved $253,000 in premium pay to County employees. Other proposed allocations include $130,00 for a new truck and trailer for Emergency Management, $3,000 for a Website upgrade, $150,000 toward a radio system upgrade, $300,000 for EMS and First Responder equipment, $140,000 to Southeast Kansas Mental Health, $200,000 for remodeling of the county’s community building, $200,000 in requests from rural water districts number five and number six, and $15,000 applied for by the Welda Sewer District. A consulting firm will likely also be hired to ensure Grant stipulations are followed according to Federal Guidelines. The County has until 2024 to allocate the funds and projects have until 2026 to execute their spending requests.
