The Lancaster County commissioners on Wednesday approved providing $680,000 in federal pandemic funds for three more community projects.
The commissioners agreed on the new American Rescue Plan Act allocations in discussions last week. The funding will be distributed as follows:
- South Ann Concerned Neighbors: $230,000 for an affordable apartment as part of a community hub.
- Columbia Catholic Housing for the Elderly: $200,000 for HVAC as part of renovations at Trinity House Apartments in Columbia.
- Union Community Care: $250,000 for HVAC and air filtration at the organization’s New Holland Welsh Mountain health care clinic.
The allocations are the latest in the county’s second round of community ARPA grants. The commissioners have budgeted $6 million; after the new grants, the remaining balance is $471,200, Deputy Chief Clerk Amy Campbell said.
The commissioners briefly discussed Tuesday how that might be spent. Campbell said one applicant, Community Basics, has reduced its request from $650,000 to $250,000. The money would go toward Manor Youth House, a project to house young adults transitioning out of foster care.
All three commissions said they’re interested in funding conservation and preservation initiatives. That category includes applications from Clean Water Partners and the Lancaster Conservancy, both involving multiple projects; and the Little Conestoga Blue/Green Trail Project.
The conservancy is seeking a total of $4 million; the trust, $1.3 million; the Little Conestoga project, $500,000. The commissioners directed Campbell to ask the organizations if they could make do with less; once they know that, they said, they can make some final allocations. They are tentatively planning to continue the discussion next week.
The county is allocating the bulk of its ARPA funds to internal county uses. On Wednesday, it approved using $115,000 in ARPA to buy “situational awareness software” for the county’s Emergency Management Agency. The software will replace a paper-based system, director Brian Pasquale said, allowing officials to better coordinate services for disaster victims and speed up reporting to federal agencies in order to expedite aid.
The commissioners also approved a $28,989 contract for printers and scanners for the Recorder of Deeds office, using ARPA funding allocated in an earlier resolution.
