Coahoma County has $4.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money thanks to COVID-19 and the federal government economic stimulus plan.
So the question now is how are they going to spend it?
We think it is a little late in the game to be getting started and urge our elected county officials to go ahead with the proposed water projects they have eyed for more than 10 years.
Your Clarksdale Press Register has been told a letter went out in the county to special people and agencies calling for a meeting to discuss how these funds would be spent. We hope you got the letter. Your Clarksdale Press Register didn’t.
And county election qualifying begins in January! But we digress . . .
Water is a critical need for every factory, business, home and school in this county. Please take one look at Jackson – our state capital – to see what happens when you don’t have quality staff, regular maintenance and bill all customers for your water.
We hope people will stand up and push for solid projects that will benefit this city and county for years to come.
Please don’t come to city or county meetings saying there is nothing for children to do. Childcare is not the responsibility of government.
Please don’t come to the meeting asking for a community center and parks so someone can have their name put on it. There are plenty of open spaces in the Mississippi Delta.
Please don’t come to the meeting trying to save buildings that need to be torn down. Give it up and let something new and improved go there that could benefit us all.
Please don’t come to the meeting with your political agenda or a desire to see these dollars go into your pocket as a contractor.
We do urge you to look deeply at needs in this community.
Healthcare, broadband internet service, workforce development and true infrastructure projects are ideas we need to seriously consider.
Water and sewer needs should also be at the top of the list. Again, we ask you to take one look at events in Jackson over the past few years to see how people in our state capital are getting along with a bad water system.
Most importantly, Coahoma County and Clarksdale must not let this opportunity pass them by.
Most voters are furious that the county has spent $200,000 to hire a consultant to help us spend this money. That $200,000 would have funded several of the water projects the county has listed.
Failing to appropriate this one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for infrastructure and recovery projects is not a rational or truly caring option for our community.
