Story County to receive $18.9 million in American Rescue Plan funds. Where will this money go?

The Story County supervisors approved organizations' eligibility to receive millions in COVID-19 relief funds Tuesday, as well as the creation of a new temporary position to manage the federal funds.

Through the American Rescue Plan Act, the economic rescue package sent $130 billion to municipalities across the country and $195 billion to states, with few restrictions on how to spend the money.

More: From sewers to golf courses, cities see green with new federal COVID-19 relief dollars

As part of the act, Story County received $18.9 million, which must be used by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026, according to county documents. The county received 50% of the funds in 2021.

Last fall, Story County asked organizations to apply for funds. The county received 37 external applications for COVID funds, which exceeded the available funds.

The supervisors approved the preliminary eligibility of 31 external organizations, totaling $9 million in requests, and 10 internal departments, totaling $2.6 million. A request from the Bridge Home for $855,000 has been tabled pending more information from the Analysis of Social Services Evaluation Team, or ASSET.

The funding could include $1.1 million to YSS for a youth rapid rehousing program and $1 million to the city of Roland for sewer upgrades and water main looping. Colo Development Group could receive $249,780 for an affordable housing subdivision, ACCESS could receive $552,900 for crime victim housing and stabilization and Huxley and Slater requested $500,000 each for infrastructure needs.

The county will now begin the contract development for selected programs. To ensure grants are administered in accordance with county, state and federal regulations, the county will also hire an American Rescue Plan program manager. The position details and its job posting were approved by the supervisors Tuesday.

The temporary position would develop a program management plan for those who have received American Rescue Plan funding and monitor program performance. The manager would also develop contracts for organizations receiving funding and ensure audit, fiscal and performance compliance.

The county will pay $60,000 to $70,000 with an offer of health insurance.

The job is currently posted and the county hopes to interview applicants in February with a tentative start date of March 14. The application period closes Feb. 8.

"I do just want to acknowledge all the work that went into making all of these determinations," Story County Board of Supervisors Chair Latifah Faisal said. "We had to make some difficult decisions, but I just appreciate all of the applications."

Danielle Gehr is a politics and government reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached by email at dgehr@gannett.com, phone at (515) 663-6925 or on Twitter at @Dani_Gehr.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: American Rescue Plan: Story County to hire COVID-19 relief manager