County distributes $500K in ARPA funds
The allocations will support premium pay for nonprofit employees and also support agencies and organizations fielding an increased level of need from the community.
The Albany County Commission awarded more than $440,000 to various nonprofits and government offices during its meeting Tuesday, committing another $63,000 to premium pay for employees of the library and various nonprofits.
The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act — Congress’s historic $1.9 trillion stimulus package — that saw some $7.5 million directed to Albany County.
Commission Chair Pete Gosar said offering premium pay was the first priority when it came to this round of funding.
“People on the line of duty during COVID-19 were working in pretty difficult conditions, and that was one of the tenets of the ARPA funding,” he said. “After that, we were tagreting emergency needs. So, people that were seeing an increased cost of business, or (for whom) funding had been drying up for one reason or another.”
Of Albany County’s $7.5 million, nearly $1.7 million had been previously set aside for employee hazard pay stipends, county facility and broadband access points, and the local vaccine incentive program. The largest chunk of that $1.7 million — more than $800,000 — went to the Albany County Assessor for aerial imagery.
Heading into Tuesday, the Commissioners had a bit more than $5.8 million left to distribute. They allocated half a million dollars over the course of 10 separate motions.
The commissioners devoted $63,000 to premium pay for eligible employees at the Albany County Public Library, Laramie Connections, Laramie Reproductive Health, Laramie Soup Kitchen and Laramie Open School.
The commissioners then approved $440,000 for various agencies and nonprofits. Each organization applied for a specific ARPA-qualified project and each was approved separately.
The following is a breakdown of those allocations:
Laramie Soup Kitchen: $69,624 to support increased need
Feeding Laramie Valley: $102,568 to support increased need
United Way of Albany County: $200,000 for a collective impact study
Albany County Fairgrounds: $3,115 for drinking water upgrades
Albany County Public Library: $13,000 for drinking water upgrades
Albany County Courthouse: $7,000 for drinking water upgrades
Albany County Attorney’s Office: $7,500 for virtual courtroom equipment
Albany County Courthouse: $12,000 for resurfacing the elections parking lot
Albany County Clerk: $26,000 for election supplies and staff
The county still has about $5.4 million to distribute. County Grant Specialist Bailey Quick has already received several applications, but is still accepting more. The commissioners will likely revisit ARPA funding in March.
Gosar said the commissioners are looking for projects related to public health, infrastructure, broadband, water and other areas ARPA was written to support.
“Going forward, we’re going to be looking at nonprofits that have produced a request that fits within ARPA that also can help offset a need in our community,” he said. “ARPA funding is meant to impact people who had been adversely impacted by COVID, people lacking in resources, people on the front lines, essential workers. So we’re trying to figure out how that works in our community and how we can fund some of these programs that have been doing that work and continue to do the work.”