Of the nearly $25 million Chautauqua County received from the federal government following the COVID-19 pandemic, about half of it is being spent on economic development.

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law. The $1.9 trillion package was intended to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including the public health and economic impacts. Of that $1.9 trillion, Chautauqua County was awarded $24.6 million. The federal government did not permit the funds to be used to pay down debt or lower taxes. The money also had to be designated to specific projects by Dec. 31, 2024, and be spent by 2026.

County officials determined it would use its money for public health, infrastructure, economic/workforce development, clean water, public safety, and a couple of miscellaneous projects.

This fall, county officials said that had essentially finished designating its ARPA spending.

The Post-Journal/OBSERVER requested from the county a summary of how all the ARPA money was being spent. The county’s summary report lists $24,889,420 in ARPA spending, slightly more than what was originally designated in 2021.

According to the summary report, the money was spread out among 10 departments, with Planning and Economic Development and Public Facilities getting nearly 80% of the money.

The breakdown by department is as follows:

— Planning and Economic Development — $12,210,840 (49%)

— Department of Public Facilities — $7,479,621 (30%)

— Office of the Sheriff — $1,576,978 (6.3%)

— Public Health — $1,123,700 (4.5%)

— Emergency Medical Services– $849,603 (3.4%)

— Mental Hygiene and Social Services — $488,000 (1.9%)

— Department of Public Facilities/Planning and Development — $405,000 (1.6%)

— Soil and Water Conservation District — $250,000 (1%)

— County Clerk — $193,808 (0.7%)

— District Attorney — $100,000 (0.4%)

PROJECT LISTINGS

By the end of September there were 70 specific projects. Any money left over from completed projects goes back into the ARPA funding account, so the legislature could be adding additional projects, although not much money is expected.

There were seven projects that topped $1 million. They are as follows:

— Site acquisition for shovel-ready sites — $3.4 million.

— Broadband expansion in Chautauqua County — $2.5 million.

— Chautauqua County Courthouse/Gerace Office Building roof replacement — $1.5 million.

— Water/sewer infrastructure for shovel-ready sites — $1.4 million.

— Jefferson Project for Chautauqua Lake (county contribution) — $1.25 million. This money is in conjunction with Chautauqua Institution for its study on Harmful Algal Blooms on Chautauqua Lake.

— Conewango dams — $1.14 million.

— Chautauqua Lake maintenance and monitoring equipment — $1,004,300.

The $3.4 million for site acquisition and $1.4 million for water/sewer infrastructure, both for shovel-ready sites, is for the development of a new industrial park in the Ripley area near the Thruway.

New York state has also awarded the county $5 million for the proposed industrial development park.

At the November county Industrial Development Agency meeting, Director Mark Geise reported that they were in the process of finalizing the purchase of the parcels for Phase I, which is about 45 acres.

With the county’s ARPA projects, there were another 35 that were between $100,000 and $1 million. They are as follows:

— North County Water District water tank — $863,000.

— Occupancy tax program bolster — $800,000. This money was available for organizations impacted by the lack of occupancy tax revenue from 2020.

— Healthy housing/lead remediation — $700,000.

— HVAC/indoor quality improvements for county-owned properties — $640,000.

— Purchase new snowblower — $624,050. This snowblower would be used when snow is too high to be pushed by plow trucks. The county has three of these types of snowblowers, one of which was a 1960s model.

— Purchase 60-ton crane — $543,626.

— Purchase two new dump/plow trucks — $535,156.

— Multitude of economic development initiatives for the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Development — $500,000.

— Chautauqua County Landfill trailers — $440,000.

— Marketing assistance to businesses and not-for-profit organizations via Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and county Industrial Development Agency — $400,000.

— SWAT Team Bearcat vehicle — $400,000.

— Strong Starts Chautauqua for newborn screening — $378,000. The county has currently suspended this project, but the money has not been designated for anything else.

— Heavy equipment purchases for county Department of Public Facilities — $370,000

— Workforce development initiative with Workforce Investment Board, Jamestown Community College, Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau and other workforce partners – $352,000.

— Furniture and upgrades to county dispatch centers — $342,301.

— Long arm excavator — $310,713.

— Body and mail scanners for county jail — $299,350.

— Soil and Water Conservation District — $250,000.

— Upgrade county trails — $250,000.

— Sherman Shop fuel system upgrade — $250,000.

— Environmental permit fee waiver program — $240,000. This money was available to give businesses that were impacted from COVID-19 a waiver from paying select health permit fees.

— Cornell Cooperative Extension agricultural improvement program — $232,540.

— Virtual reality training unit program for Sheriff’s Department — $200,000.

— Digitize county records — $193,808.

— Replace Dive Boat — $183,135.

— Chautauqua County Emergency Medical Services communication — $175,000.

— Wireless network upgrades for county servers — $173,000.

— Emergency Medical Services gear equipment — $155,968.

— Chautauqua Lake district work plan — $150,000.

— Jail needs assessment — $111,800.

— Waterways Master Plan — $105,000.

— Address isolation/quarantine housing — $100,000. The funds would be available to modify existing emergency housing shelters so there are places to put individuals who need to be quarantined.

— Remodel former print shop to expand District Attorney office — $100,000.

— CARTS Hub renovation — $100,000.

— County morgue — $100,000

There were another 27 projects that were each under $100,000. Examples include informational technology upgrades, replenish personal protective equipment, a study for commercial air service at the Jamestown airport, ballistic vests and handguns for sheriff deputies, police body cameras, improvements to the Overland trails, new firefighting foam for county fire departments, carpeting in the county buildings in Mayville, and stress management training.

Nearly every municipality in the country received some sort of ARPA funding. Locally, Jamestown was the highest, when it was awarded more than $28 million. The city of Dunkirk received $10.8 million. The village of Fredonia received $1,056,714. All other municipalities locally that were awarded ARPA funds received less than $1 million.

Municipalities weren’t the only agencies that received ARPA funds. Schools received them as well. Jamestown Public Schools was awarded $21 million and the Dunkirk City School District was awarded $13 million.