Kern County to fund Lamont flood control, Wi-Fi at parks with federal stimulus package
Jun. 9—Kern County plans to use a second federal stimulus package to achieve a wide range of improvements, including outfitting all public parks with Wi-Fi and addressing flood concerns in Lamont.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors discussed a preliminary plan to spend around $175 million in funding allocated from the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill intended to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
This is the second stimulus package passed by Congress since the pandemic began last year. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, And Economic Security (CARES) Act, Kern County received $157 million, which it used to provide relief to small businesses and fund COVID-19 prevention operations. The American Rescue Plan comes with less restriction than the CARES Act, allowing the county to take on projects with little or nothing to do with coronavirus.
The county also has until 2026 to expend the funding, allowing officials the time to use the money for long-term projects.
In the plan presented to supervisors on Tuesday, the County Administrative Office said around 46 percent of the funding would be devoted to "backfill" the budgets of county departments to make up for lost revenue.
"That would really take the financial pressure off all of our departments through the end of 2024 at the very least," said County Operations Officer Jim Zervis.
The second largest category for funding, $40.7 million, is infrastructure. The county plans to tackle a long list of infrastructure improvements with the stimulus, the most significant of which could be $10 million devoted to Lamont stormwater mitigation.
Lamont residents have long advocated for flood controls for their community, which overflows with water during periods of just moderate rainfall.
"I'm very appreciative that you thought of Lamont," Supervisor David Couch told Zervis during the meeting. "That's a big deal for that community."
Another big expenditure is $10 million devoted to outfitting all county parks with public Wi-Fi. Starting with Hart Park, the county hopes to provide the resource to the public, so they can access online content like school work and job applications.
"This is a game changer for Kern County," said Supervisor Leticia Perez. "I'm really excited about that. I know so many people whose lives will be changed instantly."
The remainder of the funding is planned to go toward COVID-19 costs and premium pay for the county's essential workers. The county expects to spend $15 million in homelessness mitigation efforts and $10 million to bail out Kern County Hospital Authority, which experienced a loss of revenue throughout the pandemic.
As libraries reopen, the county plans to use $2.45 million in federal funding to restaff its branches.
Also at the meeting, supervisors approved a $5.2 million contract that will outfit all Kern County Sheriff's deputies with body cameras. The cameras will turn on automatically when a Taser is activated or a gun is pulled from its holster.
Currently, only deputies in the metro Bakersfield division, Wasco and the Electronic Monitoring Program are equipped with body cameras. KCSO expects to distribute the body cameras to all deputies by August.
You can reach Sam Morgen at 661-395-7415. You may also follow him on Twitter @smorgenTBC.
