Talbot council hears recommendations for remaining American Rescue Plan funds

EASTON — Talbot County is preparing to distribute remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds to a number of county departments and nonprofit organizations.

Originally provided with $7.2 million in ARPA funding in 2021, the county has just under $2.3 million still available. Remaining funds must be obligated by the end of this year and used by the end of 2026.

County Council Vice President Pete Lesher, who heads the county’s ARPA subcommittee, told Talbot County Council on Tuesday that the subcommittee put out a “final call” to the community for funding requests.

“And we got exactly what we knew, which was an overwhelming number of requests,” Lesher said. In total, the subcommittee received 41 requests totaling to over $5.7 million.

Mary Kay Verdery, the county’s grants administrator, presented final recommendations to council members on Tuesday. The funding recommendations propose that nearly all of the remaining balance of about $2.3 million is doled out to 20 different projects.

Nearly $1.4 million of the remaining funds are allocated towards 15 nonprofits in the recommendations.

Three county departments — public works, economic development and tourism, and technical services — are set to receive a combined $755,000. A total of $144,000 is recommended for two Maryland Broadband Cooperative cell tower projects.

Lesher said the subcommittee tracked results from a public survey, determining that there were four priorities for funding: infrastructure and broadband connectivity, public health, assistance to small businesses and assistance to nonprofits.

Verdery noted that some projects are recommended to receive 100% of the original request, while others may receive less than 50%.

“I wish that we could have funded some of these at higher levels,” Lesher said. “I wish that we could have funded some of these that did not get funded at all. But nevertheless, I feel confident in the committee’s work and the recommendations that are being forwarded, in that they conform to the priorities that were outlined in that public survey.”

A balance of about $3,000 is left, which Verdery said could account for overages. She also explained the reasoning for the 21 projects that were not recommended to receive ARPA funds.

“Those projects that were not recommended for funding were either deemed inconsistent with the ARPA survey priorities, had potential for funding from other sources or did not rank as high on the ARPA subcommittee scoring rubric,” Verdery said.

The council did not take a final vote on the ARPA recommendations Tuesday. Council members are expected to take a vote at the next meeting on July 23.