Members of the Adams County Board of Commissioners approved allocating $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for county road projects, but some board members expressed a desire for more discussion about the fund allocation process.
Board members voted 7-0 at their regular meeting Tuesday to allocate the funds to be used primarily on a bridge project on Adams Central Avenue 1.5 miles north of Nebraska Highway 74.
Adams County received $6,091,895 in ARPA funding. Those funds have to be allocated by December 2024 and spent by December 2026.
County officials have been talking for several months about using ARPA funds for the Adams Central Avenue bridge project, or for repairs on 82nd Street, which feeds Cooperative Producers Inc.’s Hayland elevator near Prosser.
Zoning Administrator Judy Mignery, who also serves on the ARPA committee, said the focus should be the bridge on Adams Central Road.
“That needs to be done,” she said. “That has to be done. Let’s fix the broken stuff we have with this ARPA money and not create some new stuff.”
The bridge project has been estimated to cost a little more than $1 million. The Adams County Roads Department has allotted $200,000 in buyout funds from the state of Nebraska for the project.
“I don’t think there’s any question at all that the Adams Central bridge has to be done, without question,” Board Chairman Lee Hogan said. “That’s one of the largest travel roads.”
Funds remaining from the $1.5 million after the bridge project could be used toward costs associated with the 82nd Street project — currently estimated by the county’s engineering consultant to be around $2 million.
CPI has pledged $600,000 toward the 82nd Street project.
Commissioner Joe Patterson said he wanted a comprehensive work session on both road work and ARPA committee recommendations.
“I don’t feel like I’m up to speed on how the ARPA committee got to where they’re at,” he said. “I hate to vote on something I’m uncomfortable voting on and feel like I don’t have enough information.”
“I’ve asked more than once how much money has been voted on by this board to go ahead and distribute,” he said. “To this day, I have not gotten an answer.”
In fact, board members unanimously voted to postpone until a date to be determined to take action on other ARPA-funded projects including $900,000 for employee retention and hiring incentives, $300,000 for courthouse electrical, $300,000 for courthouse window repair/replacement, $200,000 for courthouse remodeling project contingency, $90,000 for administrative/contract costs and $25,000 for homeless prevention grant to Community Action Partnership of Mid Nebraska, and $150,000 for the Adams County Office Building remodeling project.
Quickly counting up the county ARPA funds allocated so far during Tuesday’s meeting, board members estimated about $2.3 million has been allocated so far.
In other business, the commissioners:
- Unanimously approved the year-end certification of county highway superintendents Greg Anderson and Greg Schmidt plus Dawn Miller, who retired at the end of September.
- Unanimously approved issuing 241 distress warrants totaling $102,978.
- Unanimously approved awarding the contract for courthouse electrical updates to Commonwealth Electric of Grand Island, which was the only bidder and bid $134,782.
- Unanimously ap
proved an agreement with WJE for indirect cost reimbursement relating to child support enforcement.
