County selects recreation for ARP funding over Fletcher library, nonprofits
Over $2 million in American Rescue Plan dollars will go toward a new recreational facility in Henderson County following approval Monday from the Board of Commissioners.
In a 4-1 vote, commissioners put their support behind using the COVID relief funds for recreation, arguing that the project could be used by more members of the community. Commissioners have long discussed adding new and improved recreation options to the county, such as new soccer fields. The county is still in the process of finding land to build a facility. Commissioner Daniel Andreotta said recreational amenities help attract and keep residents in the area.
Chair Bill Lapsley was the dissenting vote, as he proposed using $1.5 million toward supporting a new library in Fletcher. Funding for a new library has been a top priority for the Town of Fletcher for several years. Lapsley said the town was willing to also put up $1.5 million toward the project.
In addition to the recreation facility and library, the commissioners also considered a $2 million request from the Community Foundation of Henderson County and the United Way of Henderson County. The organizations requested money to help support nonprofits that took fundraising hits during the pandemic.
Vice Chair Rebecca McCall stressed that she didn’t want the commissioners’ decision to be seen as unsupportive to nonprofits, and said the commissioners have always supported the nonprofit community. She also said she wanted the funding to be spread as evenly as possible throughout the county. Commissioner Mike Edney said he was hesitant to spend ARP funds to cover ongoing expenses.
The $2,032,830 for the recreational facility uses up the rest of the county’s standard allowance category of the ARP funds. Under federal guidelines, local governments can use up to $10 million in ARP funds toward general government services. The rest of the federal funding will have to go toward ARP eligible projects. The county still has over $1.1 million to spend in that category. That amount is expected to grow since Pardee and AdventHealth have so far not come close to using the $250,000 allocated to each local hospital for infusion therapy.
Henderson County received $22.8 million in ARP dollars from the federal government.
The county has put money toward the following projects under the standard allowance rule:
VFW renovation and repair - $4.2 million
Fletcher EMS - $3.1 million
Mills River tower upgrade - $150,000
Stryker power load systems - $117,170
All-inclusive playground - $400,000
For ARP eligible funding, the county has provided the following so far:
Pardee infusion therapy - $250,000
AdventHealth infusion therapy - $250,000
Broadband GREAT grant funding - $1 million
Edneyville sewer - $9.3 million
Self-insurance reimbursement - $500,000
Foster care services - $348,000
The county must commit its ARP funding by December 2024, and spend the money by December 2026, according to Assistant County Manager Amy Brantley.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: County selects recreation for ARP funding over Fletcher library, nonprofits
