(Editor’s note: A story published on April 4 incorrectly reported that a committee of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved $1 million for broadband expansion. The county partnered with Brightspeed to apply for a GREAT Grant. A $567,974 match was required, with Brightspeed and the county funding half. The county’s half of the match was $283,987, leaving $716,013, which was allocated to the rehiring of public-sector staff to free that capacity for other ARP-related projects. CityView regrets the error. Following is the correct report.)
A three-member committee of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on April 4 voted to allocate leftover American Rescue Plan funding for a variety of projects. The ARP committee includes Commissioners Jimmy Keefe, Glenn Adams and Toni Stewart.
The county’s allocation of ARP money totals $65 million. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the money can be used to cover eligible COVID-related costs incurred between March 3, 2021, and Dec 31, 2024. The money must be obligated to eligible programs by Dec. 31, 2024, and spent by Dec. 31, 2026.
Keefe chairs the committee, which met at 1:30 p.m. April 4 in Room 564 at the Cumberland County Courthouse. Among the items the committee passed that will be sent to the April 11 meeting of the county board are using unencumbered ARP money totaling $1 million to provide broadband to rural Cumberland County.
According to Tye Vaught, county chief of staff, the county has partnered with Connect Holding LLC, which does business as Brightspeed, to participate in the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grant program. The GREAT grant is administered by the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s broadband infrastructure office.
Vaught told committee members that the county is responsible for 50%, or $283,987, of the $567,974 project match, which would leave a remaining budget of $716,013 of the original $1 million allocation.
The committee also voted to forward the following requests to its April 11 agenda session:
Defibrillator pads for use by volunteer fire departments: $500,000.
Employee child care center: $1.5 million.
Library internet hotspot and service: $150,000.
NORCESS matching funds to rehabilitate the sewer system serving Godwin, Falcon, and Wade, as much as $550,000.
Emergency shelter generator at Westover Recreation Center: $1.745 million.
In other matters, the committee voted to forward a recommendation to create 12 homes consisting of 800 square feet. The homes would have one or two bedrooms using $2.7 million of freed-up money.
At the Nov. 14, 2022, ARP committee meeting, county administrators asked the committee to allocate an additional $2.7 million for the Robin’s Meadow Permanent Supportive Housing Development. The county determined that one responsive bidder submitted a proposal exceeding the project’s allocated funding cap.
County administrators proposed three options for the committee to consider:
The first option proposed building 12 units and a community resource center. One bid was for $7 million. After using the $2.7 million in Community Block Grant funds and another $2.7 million in freed-up funds, the county would still need to kick in $1.55 million.
Another option was to create 18 micro homes of 360 square feet each, which would share sleeping areas with toilet facilities. Commissioner Toni Stewart said the units look like jail cells.
The board opted for a third option that calls for building 12 homes of 800 square feet each with one and two bedrooms using $2.7 million in freed-up money.
The ARP committee reviewed applications from nonprofit organizations for financial assistance from COVID-19 assistance.
The committee recommended a total of $1,119,919 for the first group of nonprofit applicants. But getting the money is contingent on successfully executing a contract with the county. If approved by the full Board of Commissioners, each nonprofit organization will get a of as much as $50,000.
The proposed recipients are:
Nonprofit Request Recommendation
Beaver Dam Volunteer Fire Department $50,000 $50,000
Better Health of Cumberland County $50,000 $50,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Cumberland
County $50,000 $50,000
Carolina Collaborative Community
Care $50,000 $50,000
Connections of Cumberland County $50,000 $50,000
Cotton Volunteer Fire Department $50,000 $50,000
Cumberland County Coordinating
Council on Older Adults $50,000 $50,000
Cumberland Residential & Employment
Services & Training (CREST) $50,000 $50,000
Cumberland Road Volunteer FirecDepartment $50,000 $50,000
Employment Source DBA ServiceSource $50,000 $50,000
Fayetteville Urban Ministry $50,000 $50,000
First Baptist Church $50,000 $50,000
Gray’s Creek Fire Department 24 $50,000 $50,000
Kingdom Community Development Corp. $50,000 $50,000
SSG James B. Dennis VFW Post 6018 $28,500 $28,500
Spring Lake Family Support Services $41,812 $41,812
Sustainable Sandhills $49,907 $49,907
Cape Fear Regional Theatre $50,000 $50,000
The Enclave $50,000 $50,000
The School of Hope $50,000 $50,000
United Way of Cumberland County $49,700 $49,700
Vision Resource Center $100,800 $50,000
Westarea Volunteer Fire Department $50,000 $50,000
Total $1,119,919
