Addressing county issues like child care, workforce housing, broadband, groundwater testing, and invasive species are all on the table Tuesday as the Door County Board decides which projects are worth funding.
Through the American Rescue Plan Act, the county was allocated over $5.3 million as a way to recover lost state and local funds due to the pandemic. The county hosted a public information session about how to best use the funds on January 12th with the public echoing the need for many of the issues eligible for the ARPA funds. Nine different projects will be funded with the ARPA money, taking up approximately $4.3 million of the $5.3 million available.
Door County Emergency Services requested $72,000 over three years to cover the initial education costs for up to four EMTs, two Advanced EMTs, and two paramedics per year. The Door County Health and Human Services Department requested over $438,000 to help jumpstart the United Way’s efforts to address affordable child care and $575,000 for a multi-bed facility and treatment program to be used by people addicted to drugs. The Door County Soil and Water Conservation Department asked for $280,500 to perform a groundwater screen on approximately 20 private wells for contaminants. The department is also looking to acquire $204,500 to control over 120 acres of phragmites over a three-year time period. Door County Land Use Services has asked for $500,000 in ARPA funds to supplement their affordable housing revolving loan fund and $500,000 to aid in the construction of a housing project in Sister Bay. Another $800,000 would be earmarked to replace all existing single-sided green fire numbers with new blue, two-sided signs in all 14 towns. About $1 million would set aside for improving broadband and hiring an administrator for those efforts.
The Door County Board meets on Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m. at the Door County Government Center. You can click this link to see the entire agenda and read more about the projects requesting ARPA funds.
