Lewis and Clark County Announces ARPA Awards

Helena, MT – The Lewis and Clark County Board of Commissioners has announced American Rescue Plan Act awards to 40 diverse community and County department projects addressing service and infrastructure needs in Lewis and Clark County.

"We are pleased with the breadth and quality of the projects this ARPA funding will support across the County," said Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Jim McCormick. "It was our goal to select projects with a broad effect on community needs without creating ongoing financial burden to local tax payers and we've achieved that goal."

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law in March, 2021, provided $350 billion to state, territorial, local, and tribal governments to support response and recovery from the COVID-19 emergency. Lewis and Clark County's share of ARPA funding was $13,486,352.

The County used a robust process to assess all projects under consideration for ARPA awards. Priority considerations were given to one-time expenditures, infrastructure improvements, level of project need, and long-term impacts which would provide critical relief to County resi- dents. The Board also identified shovel-ready projects where additional funding sources could be lever- aged.

"Many of the projects we awarded would have been cost-prohibitive for our community partners and County departments without ARPA," said Commissioner McCormick. "By leveraging this allocation with other funding opportunities, County residents are receiving the greatest benefit with the least amount of direct cost."

To date, Lewis and Clark County and its community partners have leveraged over $6.5M in additional funding towards completing the awarded projects.

Lewis and Clark County ARPA allocations were awarded to five major categories with impact across the County:

• Community Assistance - $2,084,700

• Public Safety and Services - $1,821,000

• Water and Sewer Infrastructure - $1,394,350

• Public Health - $1,472,200

• County Facility Improvements - $3,515,825

Community Assistance projects addressed community needs such as healthy childhood environments, long-term housing security, food assistance and health. Awardees include Florence Crittenton Home and Services, Margaret Stuart Youth Home, Helena Habitat for Humanity, Lincoln Workforce Housing, Helena Food Share, and PureView Health Center.

Water and Sewer infrastructure projects to improve clean water or wastewater treatment were awarded in seven different communities and directly impact more than 2700 Lewis and Clark County households. Among the community partners receiving awards are the Craig County Water Sewer Dis- trict, Ten Mile/Pleasant Valley Water Sewer District, La Casa Grande Water Sewer District, Trinity School District #4, and Eastgate Village Water and Sewer Association, Inc.

Awards to County departments addressed a variety of improvements to public safety and services for staff and visitors using County facilities. Some notable projects include the Lincoln Fire Protection Dis- trict water station, Detention Center body scanner, Courthouse security upgrades, Fairgrounds asphalt project, and facility ventilation improvements.

For more information on how ARPA awards are working in Lewis and Clark County visit the American Rescue Plan Act dashboard at https://bit.ly/3A3dP7M.