By May of this year, Inyo County will be looking at $3.5 million American Rescue Plan Act funding. At Tuesday’s Board meeting, the Supervisors opted to hang onto the money, using it for grant matches to tick off projects on its “to do” list.
While it looks like a hefty chunk of change, the $3.5 million is just three-percent of the County’s budget. The first half of the County’s allotment came in last May, Chief Administrative Officer Leslie Chapman reported to the Board. At that time, the Supervisors prioritized a list of potential projects that fit within appropriate spending categories. The plan Chapman proposed and the Board approved was to continue to pursue grant funding for designated projects and use the federal money to fulfill the grant matching requirements from other sources. The deadline to spend ARPA monies is the end of 2024.
According to the staff report, “the purpose of these funds is to provide a substantial infusion of resources to help turn the tide on the pandemic, address COVID’s economic fallout and lay the foundation for a strong and equitable recovery.
The projects waiting for the second round of funding:
• Planning and environmental work on extending Broadband
• Housing, $600,000 was included in the County’s 2021-22 budget
• Water systems infrastructure, specifically replacing the Lake Dias water system and fixes to three aging community water systems
• A South County satellite of the Small Business Resource Center in Bishop
The Resource Center in Bishop in already a work in progress. County staff has met with the consultant’s architect and, “hopefully, demolition and rebuilding will start very soon,” Chapman stated via e-mail.
The final draft of the Center’s business plan will go before the Board at its January 18 meeting.
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So funny….
So many believe this “broadband” and wireless internet is going to mean “free” internet.
Are you in for a surprise !!
Right? I mean, so far the track record has been to fleece the taxpayer, manipulate them to get an agenda across, then leave them standing empty handed in the end. This will be millions spent on fiber to some government building… or perhaps a government building itself. Lol. It will have nothing to do with the taxpayers who funded it. Better off putting your money behind Starlink, they skip the middle man and get you broadband to your house or business. Inyo County, Suddenlink or City of Bishop never has and never will care about the regular Joe or up and coming SBA and their needs. See how successful and productive that downtown biz center is? It is hopping, am I right? Making business owners left and right. It will be the same, with reliance on some organization like suddenlink to gouge you for the last mile infrastructure. Fiber is great, but who is going to tear up the neighborhoods to get it to your door?
It doesn’t fit in with their “rural values.” Yet somehow fleecing the population to fund projects they will never use fits perfectly. More tactical gear and lawyers along with less training. Somehow social services gets translated to government subsidies, every time. Yet, we can’t treat the very minor local homeless problem within the same context?
Smells like tuna, tastes like bad sushi. It is likely actually just stale cat pee vapor evaporating from digital 395 bureaucrats and the ghosts of million dollar project promises past.
How about all these failing water systems, eh?
Rezident
Yep..
Going to be a BIG disappointment to a LOT of people,thinking broadband means free..
Nope
Still going to keep costing for internet..probably even more than before and now.