At a special joint meeting of the Kosciusko County American Rescue Plan Act Committee, Kosciusko County Commissioners and Kosciusko County Council in the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom on Tuesday, Aug. 1, are from left: Kosciusko County Councilmen Dave Wolkins and Tony Ciriello, Kosciusko County Council Vice President Kathy Groninger, Kosciusko County Commissioner and ARPA Committee Member Cary Groninger, Kosciusko County Commissioners’ President Brad Jackson, Kosciusko County Councilwoman and ARPA Committee Member Sue Ann Mitchell, Kosciusko County Council President and ARPA Committee Member Mike Long, Kosciusko County Councilwoman Kim Cates, Kosciusko County Commissioners’ Vice President Bob Conley and Kosciusko County Administrator Marsha McSherry. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Kosciusko County leaders have agreed to spend more than $1.1 million of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds on county recreational projects and broadband internet in Sidney.

That choice was made at a special joint meeting of the county’s ARPA committee, commissioners and council on Tuesday, Aug. 1.

Leaders had to decide at the meeting how to spend $1.2 million of the county’s overall ARPA funds from the federal government they had set aside last year via the county’s participation in the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program.

The state created HELP to assist local governments with spending their ARPA money on projects to better their communities in four specific areas: Advancing E-Connectivity; Enhancing Quality of Place; Promoting Community Wellness; and Strengthening Local Economies. Kosciusko County was selected to participate, and county representatives invited any of the county’s cities and towns to take part as well, with Mentone, Milford and Pierceton agreeing.

Through HELP, the county has a community coordinator, Amy Roe, who is helping guide those in the area through the process.

She and the Michiana Council of Governments’ Zach Dripps, who’s also helping with the process, were present at Tuesday’s meeting.

Also at the meeting were Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board members and representatives with Kosciusko REMC and Kosciusko Connect, who brought project suggestions before the county leaders.

As Kosciusko County Commissioner and ARPA Committee Member Cary Groninger noted at the start of the meeting, leaders could only chose from projects they had already narrowed down through the HELP process, having outlined them in what is called a strategic investment plan.

Those presented Tuesday consisted of: creating a greenways and blueways plan for the county; extending the Chinworth Bridge greenway westward; putting in a boat launch at James Lake; and allowing KREMC and Kosciusko Connect to install fiber for broadband internet in Sidney.

The county agreed to spend $80,000 on the greenways and blueways plan, with Winona Lake also planning to contribute $30,000 for it. It also opted to spend $750,000 for the Chinworth Bridge greenway project and $302,798.45 for the fiber to Sidney.

Part of the amount for KREMC and Kosciusko Connect, or $42,000, includes laying fiber for constructing a fourth supplemental public safety communications tower at Sidney, with leaders noting current issues with the other towers reaching there due to the landscape.

Leaders discussed not doing the boat launch as they need to have the greenways and blueways plan done before they can plan for it.

The monies allocated Tuesday total $1,132,798.45. As Groninger also mentioned Tuesday, leaders had to spend at least $1 million of the set aside funds to ensure a match of the same amount from the state via HELP. The county has agreed to give those matching funds to Mentone, Milford and Pierceton to assist with their HELP projects.