CARIBOU, Maine – Aroostook municipalities and nonprofits could receive funding from the county’s $2.4 million American Rescue Plan Act grant program in 2024.
In 2022, the county allocated $6.5 million of its $13 million in COVID relief funds into a grant program that towns and nonprofits must apply for. Commissioners awarded $2.1 million to 15 projects in 2022 and $1.7 million to 16 projects in 2023.
Projects have been geared toward three categories: public health and negative economic impact, infrastructure and broadband. In 2024, the county will add emergency and natural disaster relief and Title I, the latter of which could fund housing rehabilitation and reconstruction, real estate acquisition for public housing and property disposal. Title I projects must align with federal Community Development Block Grant guidelines.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury added the two new categories in Aug. 2023, said Aroostook ARPA Administrator Steve Pelletier during a Dec. 20 commissioners meeting.
Pelletier did not recommend that the county include a third federally-approved category: surface transportation projects. Though municipalities could partner with the Department of Transportation, the Maine DOT already has its 2023-2025 work plan set, which would not help towns wishing to fund projects with ARPA.
The commissioners agreed to include natural disaster relief and Title I but opted to move up the ARPA application deadline from April 15 to April 1.
Pelletier said he was aiming for a deadline that would fall before the county finance commimttee’s last meeting. At that time, the committee and county government will be working on the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget, to begin July 1.
“If we don’t have ARPA funds allocated by Dec. 31, 2024, that would raise a red flag for the federal government if we were ever audited,” Pelletier said. “After Dec. 31, we would have to return any funds that were not allocated [in the county’s budget].”
If the county does not receive enough applications to award the entire $2.4 million, the county can put into its budget an estimated figure to give to county projects, said County Administrator Ryan Pelletier.
All projects must be “shovel ready,” Steve Pelletier said, to ensure that towns and nonprofits can allocate their funds before the 2024 deadline.
The county’s $2,474,916 budget for the 2024 ARPA awards will include $600,000 for public health, $334,916 for negative economic impact, $1.3 million for infrastructure and broadband and $100,000 each for natural disaster relief and Title I.
Applicants must submit a letter of intent before Feb. 16 and their final application before April 1. Broadband is the only category that has a deadline of Aug. 1 for both the letter of intent and application.
County officials will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 10 at Caribou Superior Court so interested communities and nonprofits can ask questions about ARPA program guidelines.
In other business, commissioners approved a 12-month contract with Southern Aroostook EMS for ambulance coverage in eight townships – Cary, St. Croix, Webber, Dudley, Forkstown, TCR2, T3R8 and TAR2 – and a three-year contract with East Millinocket for ambulance coverage in Benedicta, Silver Ridge, T1R4, T2R4, T3R4 and T1R5.
The contract with Southern Aroostook EMS totals $35,690 for 2024. With East Millinocket, the county agreed to a $5,948 total in 2024, which will rise by 5 percent to $6,245 in 2025 and to $6,557 in 2026.
The county entered into a three-year contract with Stacyville to provide excise tax and voting services to Benedicta and Silver Ridge in 2024. The agreement came about after Sherman town officials said they would be unable to provide those services due to anticipated staff departures.
Commissioners voted to hire Sean Cerveny of New Sweden and Robert Mockler of Caribou as firefighters for North Lakes Fire & Rescue, to reappoint Ryan Rackliffe as deputy sheriff; and hire Devin Orr and Daniel Bowman part-time corrections officers and Jeremy Keating as a full-time corrections officer at Aroostook County Jail in Houlton.
Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office entered into a contract with Brunswick-based Alternative Correctional Healthcare for crisis services. Alternative Correctional Healthcare already provides medical care to county jail inmates but will take over crisis services from Aroostook Mental Health Center Jan. 1.
AMHC can no longer provide crisis services to jail inmates due to changes in a state grant that AMHC had been using for those services, said Aroostook County Sheriff Peter Johnson.
Commissioners approved Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency’s extreme temperature plan. EMA Director Darren Woods worked with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to draft the plan, which details the county’s emergency response for instances of extreme heat and cold.
Woods said he will send the plan to municipalities, school districts, hospitals and other community partners.
The County Commissioners will hold their next meeting at the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office administrative building at 25 School St. in Houlton on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m.
