County to answer ARPA questions

A request for proposals to allocate the remaining $719,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds apparently raised questions as well as suggestions.

On Thursday, Douglas County commissioners are scheduled to hear a presentation about the expenditure.

Commissioners meet starting 10 a.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1616 Eighth St., Minden. For more information, visit www.douglascountynv.gov

One source of the additional money is the reallocation of $500,000 in NEPA assessment money for Muller Lane Parkway. Another $456,936 for a grant match to pay for the Buckeye culvert crossing is also being reallocated.

In May, commissioners approved spending $171,000 of that money to refurbish the Tahoe-Douglas Fire Protection District boat that sank in a January 2022 storm.

At the time, commissioners were told that it’s possible other projects approved last year won’t come to fruition or won’t cost as much as anticipated.

Last year, commissioners doled out $6.99 million to various projects across the county, leaving $41.3 million in unfunded requests.

The remaining money wouldn’t make much of a dent in the larger requests.

The money came from a second round of federal funding related to the coronavirus outbreak.

The previous Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 was designed to reimburse the county for responding to the outbreak, was required to be spent on a much tighter timeline.

Both acts carried similar amounts of money for the county, but the CARES Act funding had to be spent on a much tighter deadline.

The county has until December 2024 to spend recovery act money.

Requests for the remaining money were taken through June 21. It’s possible that after Thursday’s presentation clarifying final rules for using the money, commissioners may extend the period for requests through Aug. 4.