This story has been updated with information provided by the Madison Township fiscal officer, Leanna Rhodes.
MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township is eligible to receive $1.1 million in ARPA funding as part of the federal government’s COVID-19 relief program.
Trustees said the board has discussed possible uses, but no major allocations have been made because the guidelines keep changing.
Fiscal officer Leanna Rhodes said the board has appropriated $70,000 for professional and technical services (in preparation for any legal fees or engineering). The board has approved a $10,000 purchase order from those funds to cover legal fees from consulting with a lawyer on ARPA funding, but Rhodes says none of the money has been spent to date.
“We came up with some ideas, but then we had to double check, make sure it’s even covered,” Trustee Jim Houser said. “ARPA came out with original guidelines. They changed those guidelines and then they changed the guidelines again.”
Houser said the most recent change expanded what ARPA funds can be used for, opening up more possibilities for spending the money.
“There’s more projects that we can actually do now than when they originally set out the guidelines,” he said.
Trustee Cathy Swank said she’d like to use most or all of the township’s ARPA funding on fixing up the township roads. Houser said he’d like to see some of the money go towards installing more fire hydrants throughout the township, as proposed by the chief of the Madison Township Fire Department.
“Our roads need it, but I think some of the other infrastructure also needs it,” Houser said.
Swank said she wanted to see firm numbers before supporting the fire hydrant proposal.
“I’m waiting to see just how much it costs,” Swank said. “We’re not going to make any quick decisions on this.”
Trustee Tom Craft didn’t cite a specific area he’d like to target with ARPA funding.
“I support whatever takes care of majority of Madison Township,” he said. “If it’s storm sewers, if it’s roads, if it’s fire hydrants, whatever takes care of a majority of people.
“I don’t have a problem with all three of them.”
Craft said each foot of storm sewer costs about $100 to replace, so ARPA funding wouldn’t be able to cover a complete overhaul.
“But there’s other small projects that can be done to alleviate flooding,” he said. “We’ve just got to do something.”
ARPA funds for townships must be allocated by Dec. 31, 2024 and spent by Dec. 31, 2026. ARPA recipients have to decide how they’ll spend the money, allocating it for certain uses that are eligible under federal guidelines, before actually receiving the funding.
On Tuesday, the board voted to adopt a procurement policy for ARPA funds in order to meet federal procurement standards, as advised by the township’s attorney.
The board chose not to vote on a $49,000 proposal from the township road department to purchase supplies for blade patching certain township roads. Trustees were unsure if the purchase exceeded the federally-allowed amount before it must go out for competitive bid. The plan is to vote once they receive clarification from legal counsel.
