Coahoma County has money that must be spent on community projects and they are asking local communities to help them pick projects that will benefit the county for years to come.
Board President Johnny Newson hosted a meeting last week with county stakeholders, but only eight people attended the meeting and the decision was made to host another meeting to get a better idea of how $4.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds might be spent.
Thursday’s meeting saw two people from Coahoma, Newson, District 3 Supervisor Derrell Washington, county engineer Ken Weiland, CPU Manager Curtis Boshert discuss the timeline, how the money will be allocated and what it can be spent on. County ARPA consultant Andrew L. Smith attended the meeting via Zoom.
Mississippi has received $6 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for infrastructure and COVID recovery projects, but there are strings attached to that money.
Supervisors are looking for ways to leverage local money with state and federal programs with an eye on bigger projects that would serve more people.
Cities, counties, and rural water associations are depending on millions of dollars in ARPA funds to rehabilitate aged water and sewer systems across the state.
The money can not be spent on projects that are already in a budget and they can’t be used to purchase property or reduce taxes.
The funds must be obligated to projects by Dec. 31, 2024. Funds not used must be sent back to the state and federal government.
The application process for water projects began Sept. 15 with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and the county is pushing to meet its next deadline of Sept. 30.
Record-level inflation may be problem with some of these projects. Every day of delay sees the cost of construction going up and the value of ARPA funds going down.
Delays also mean there is less time to complete the jobs and fewer available contractors, subcontractors and engineers. All states and counties are also competing for the same labor pool.
Allocations earmarked for local cities, towns and counties are:
CITY/TOWN Allocation
Alligator $40,000
Batesville $1,630,000
Charleston $420,000
Clarksdale* $3,360,000
Cleveland $2,500,000
Coahoma* $70,000
Friars Point* $230,000
Indianola $2,040,000
Jonestown* $250,000
Lula* $60,000
Lyon* $60,000
Marks $320,000
Shelby $440,000
Sumner $60,000
Tunica $190,000
* = Local city/town.
COUNTIES Allocation
Bolivar $5,940,000
Coahoma $4,290,000
Quitman $1,320,000
Sunflower $4,870,000
Tallahatchie $2,680,000
Tunica $1,870,000
WATER PROJECTS:
1.) Six-inch Service loop to Airport, CEPA and Hwy. 316 (Recommended) - Alternate #1: 2,282.081.
2.) Six-inch Extension and distribution line replacement for the Town of Rich – APPROVED – $873,341.
3.) Eight-inch Water main relocation at Moon Lake Bridge – (RECOMMENDED): $102,305.
4.) Eight-inch, six-inch, four-inch, Indian Mound I Anderson headquarters Alternate #2 (RECOMMENDED) $559928.
5.) Four-inch Extension to New Faith Church and unserved residences on Hwy. 322 (APPROVED): $428,538.
