County pauses requests for ARPA funds

5/19/2022

By Patsy Nicosia

Looking at more requests than money and with a handful of critical projects yet to be funded, Schoharie County has paused its ARPA awards.
Members of supervisors American Rescue Plan Committee heard three funding proposals Monday:
• A request from Bassett Healthcare for $200,000 to help cover the costs of expanding Cobleskill primary care services to seven days a week.
• $75,000 over three years to help the Schoharie County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse match an Appalachian Regional Commission grant to help businesses deal with employee substance abuse.
• $20,000 to finish restoring windows at the Old Stone Fort in time for its 250th anniversary celebration.
But the requests were tabled and then paused on the advice of County Administrator Steve Wilson.
“At this point, we are exceeding the maximum [ARPA] amount available so I recommend you put a pause on new projects as we work this out,” Mr. Wilson said.
To date, supervisors have awarded $3.5 million in ARPA—COVID stimulus—grants with another $410,108 granted with conditions for projects to extend sewer lines at the Cobleskill Fairgrounds, update county IT systems, and enhance tourism—among others.
In all, the two dozen-plus requests for funding—including those already granted—total $6.3 million.
With $2 million left in the pot, if all of the outstanding grants were funded, the county would be $313,807.30 in the hole.
“I don’t want people in the community thinking we have a big pot of money,” Mr. Wilson said.
Especially, said Sharon Supervisor Sandy Manko, with a number of big county concerns looming.
Among them: issues at the transfer station, the need for a housing study, addressing flood evacuation routes, and partnering with the SUNY Cobleskill Research Foundation on a gasification project that could be an economic boon.
“I think we have to look at the bigger picture,” Ms. Manko said.
“I’m afraid if we commit to these projects now, we’ll wish we hadn’t.”
SUNY Cobleskill and Caribou Biofuels are applying for a $1.5 million Department of Energy grant to develop a gassifer that would turn solid waste into electricity, Mr. Wilson said.
The project would be located at MOSA and as proposed, within 3-5 years it would begin manufacturing “sized machines,” creating electricity, jobs, and lower trash costs.
The county has to actually apply for the grant, Mr. Wilson said, and it would require a $320,000 local match.
He said he expects to recommend to supervisors Friday that they apply for the grant.