Wednesday, May 25 at 8 a.m. the Greene County Commission will be looking at ways to allocate money from the American Rescue Plan. Fourteen months ago, President Joe Biden signed the COVID-19 relief law, sending $65 billion to counties around the U. S. among other spending initiatives.
Greene County gets a $56.9 million share, and expects to hold 10 percent of the money in reserve. County officials tell KSMU that some of the remaining funds will go toward "Community Impact Projects."
Representatives of roughly 15 local organizations selected out of 51 applications made since March 7 will present county leaders with their proposals. The goal is meeting a list of community needs identified by the public. Mental health, services for unhoused people and affordable housing topped that list, said Dr. Lyle Foster, who helps oversee county Rescue Plan efforts.
“It may not necessarily be typical things that have been going on along," Foster said. "So some of our proposals, which I can’t divulge at the moment, would be what I would call fairly unique or transformative projects, and so that’s really the distinction of the CIP initiative.”
These so-called “transformational” plans could cost about $500,000 to get going. They are separate from future Rescue Plan funding for Greene County nonprofits and small businesses. The public may attend the 8 a.m. meeting in Room 212 at 940 North Boonville Avenue or watch online.
Visit GreeneCountyMo.gov and click Commission Calendar under the Events tab for more information.
