By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph City and Buchanan County officials are working to decide how best to spend American Rescue Plan Funds.
Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner Lee Sawyer says now that the federal government has enacted its final ruling on what funds can go towards local officials are getting closer to making their final rulings.
"We're definitely closer than we've ever been to kind of get rolling," Sawyer tells Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. "There's some exciting opportunities for the community, the region, Buchanan County obviously, I feel like there's some really good opportunities."
Buchanan County has received approximately $17 million.
Sawyer says the county will soon send out applications to people that applied for funds and review each one before coming to a final decision.
St. Joseph City Manager Bryan Carter adds there are several uses the city has chosen that will benefit the community in numerous ways, especially parts of the community effected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carter says this was a two-year funding process, and this round the city is working on the first-year funds.
"We are working on the first year, the funds that were received in 2021 I believe we received them around June, we assembled a committee to make recommendations for how to spend most of those funds, and we're now kind of finalizing that," Carter says. "The next set of funds is scheduled to be received this summer; we don't have anything definitive planned for those funds quite yet."
Carter says the city is pleased with the work the citizens committee did to help decide what projects the approximately $39 million the city has received should go towards.
Carter says one thing future funds could go towards is the Mosaic Child Discovery Center, which is something new for the community.
"The essential component to it is it's going to be much like children's museums that you see in other cities," Carter explains to Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. "A lot of folks are familiar with the children's museum in St. Louis, so it's going to have some of those types of features."
Carter says the future center, from his understanding, will provide many great engaging activities.
"But from what I understand, a lot of the concept is to get young children engaged, kind of get their minds churning and seeing some new things," Carter says.
Carter adds there will be future work sessions where the Mosaic Life Care foundation will present more about the Discovery Center plans.