Trending
CORTLAND -- Officials from several townships, villages and cities as well as representatives from local organizations in the county presented their project ideas to Trumbull County commissioners, hoping to be able to possibly receive American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Commissioners held a special meeting Wednesday at the Trumbull Agriculture and Family Education Center on the ARP funds in addition to a meeting held Tuesday.
More than 50 people attended Wednesday's meeting.
Commissioners are having people submit their applications for the ARP funding for review by legal counsel Tonya Rogers, who will advise commissioners on what project would qualify.
Commissioner Denny Malloy said the county started with $23 million in ARP funds and has $15 million remaining. The first $8 was spent on infrastructure projects, sewer and water, safety services and building maintenance.
Nearly $20 million in requests have been filed so far.
"We will review the applications.We want to make sure the funds are used the proper way and are the most responsible use of our taxpayer dollars. We as commissioners want to do our part to disperse the money as fairly as we can throughout Trumbull County. It is important that many communities can benefit from this," Malloy said.
Officials said the money can be awarded to help communities which lost money during the coronavirus pandemic.
"We will have to prioritize the projects and work to get the money equally distributed," Malloy said.
Rogers said the applications will be reviewed to see if they meet the requirements of how the funding can be used, such as for responding to the affects of the pandemic, payment for essential workers, revenue loss, and sewer, water and broadband infrastructure.
"I will need as much data and information as possible from the applicants to show where the need was created because of the problems of the pandemic," she said.
Rogers that invest in greenspace can also receive funding such as playgrounds and park projects. Capital improvement projects will be the most challenging to award, she said.
"We have the opportunity to do something impactful," Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said.
Commissioner Niki Frenchko said she would like to see a large spreadsheet made available for the commissioners and the public to show the requests made, the benefited areas of projects, such as countywide or for one community, and the category or type of request.
"This allows us to see what all the applications are and all the projects are. This can show us what projects have been approved and what ones are pending. It could show what money has already been spent on. This would be a good tool to have," she said.
"We already have more applications that we can fund. We need to see what projects will most benefit the county," Frenchko said.
PROJECT IDEAS
Project applications submitted include:
• Phil Pegg, Vienna trustee, $350,000 to help with covering of a fire pumper truck at more than $800,000 since the township also protects the Youngstown Air Reserve Station and Youngstown Regional Airport;
• Christine Cope, director of the Trumbull United Way, $1 million to help recoup the 42 percent loss in revenue from 2019 to 2023 for programs in area schools and 21 other organizations;
• Sean Rentz, Kinsman police chief, $200,000 to help cover costs for a new police garage building;
• Thomas Shay, Braceville fiscal officer, for extension of the Blueprint to Prosperity project in the township to help residents who need improved water quality from waterlines and deal currently with silt in their water;
• Jason Cooke with Healthy Hearts and Paws, $25,000 for a larger shelter for caring for dogs and cats;
• Robin Zambrini with the Hubbard Historical Society, less than $25,000 for work at the historic McBride House since the pandemic hurt revenue and memberships.
Malloy recommended a deadline of October to get projects submitted.
Rogers said funds need to be identified on how they will be spent by December 2024 and all money needs to be spent by December 2026.
Malloy said community leaders can show their residents how they can spend the ARP money to benefit not only their own communities but the county as well.
"The ARP money will help benefit all of the citizens of the county," he said.