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Bates County Presiding Commissioner Jim Wheatley along with Southern Commissioner Trent Nelson and Northern Commissioner Ken Mooney approved the release of more ARPA funds in August. This includes $80,600.00 to the Rich Hill water department; $101,000.00 to the Rich Hill fire department; and $107.699.75 to the Rockville fire department.
“From day one, our focus has been on helping rural water districts and vital infrastructure” said Wheatley in a statement last week “We believe fire protection is a high priority too. We want to make sure that the most basic needs are always met first.” And going back to May of this year, the allocations show mostly just that: district #7, $244,170.00; city of Adrian $32,000.00; Hume fire department $90,000.00; water district #1 $266,600.00; district #4 $229,000.00; Bates county food pantry $7,728.76; city of Butler $285.941.00 and Amsterdam fire department $54,800.00.
The 2022 disbursements were as follows: Hume Alliance Ministry $15.855.00; Adrian rural fire department $83.890.00; water district #6 $250,000.00; water district #2 $375.356.50; water district #3 $213,747.50; water district #5 $342,508.00 and the Bates County Fair $274.120.00.
Of the initial amount of $3.14 million received in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies by Bates County, there is about $60,000.00 left to pay out before December 31 this year. With that, those who received payments will have up to December 31, 2026 to spend it, according to ARPA guidelines.
It’s certain that those listed above receiving the windfall are quite appreciative and as part of a regular, ongoing feature Mid America Live will make contact with those recipients for insight on exactly how the money will be spent.