Trent Riddle, the chairperson of a committee charged with oversight of Barren County’s American Rescue Plan Act funding, gazes at a document during an earlier meeting of the Barren Fiscal Court.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
GLASGOW — The Barren Fiscal Court voted Tuesday to disburse additional American Rescue Plan Act funding to various entities across the county.
The county was awarded $8,594,850 from the federal government. The money was provided in two distributions, and a county committee is charged with oversight of its disbursal.
The committee agreed to allocate $1 million to local healthcare. Half of the funds were allocated toward retainment while the other half was disbursed among healthcare personnel who worked throughout the pandemic from March 13, 2020, to March 13, 2021, and remain employed in the county.
“We need our healthcare workers,” said Krista Steenbergen, a grant advisor to county government.
Most local healthcare workers received a one-time $929.37 payment from the county government. But some workers did not receive a check.
LaDonna Rogers, Director of Human Resources at T.J. Samson Hospital, estimated about 10 employees were not included because they changed jobs. Those employees will be able to obtain a check after proving they remained employed within Barren County and did not have a lapse longer than a week from one job to the other.
An addendum will be created and resigned by Rogers and Micheal Hale, the county’s judge/ executive. That will enable the other workers to be included in the ARPA disbursal.
Scholarships were disbursed earlier this week to students who plan to pursue a career in healthcare. Those students also plan to return to Barren County, Steenbergen said.
The Glasgow Water Company was awarded $1 million to fund a project, which will provide running water to homes in the county without it. Some residents still use well water and at least one address uses solely sulfur water. Some of those addresses are along Ritters Mill Road, county officials said. The project is expected to take two to three years to complete.
Several non-profit organizations also requested money from the ARPA Committee. One of those included the Ralph Bunche Community Center, which serves as a gathering place and area for the community’s soup kitchen.
The entity requested an additional $100,000 to replace windows in the building, which are broken or faulty. They hope to better heat and cool the community center.
“I think the thought process is here that if we can get them to be a little more energy efficient – maybe slash their heating and cooling bill – then they’ll have more money to spend toward other programs,” said Trent Riddle, magistrate for Barren County’s second district.
The community center received $100,000 from the fiscal court previously. They voted on Tuesday to provide an additional $100,000.
The Court approved a requested from Barren River Animal Welfare Association, which is the county’s animal shelter. They requested $8,120 for certain animal holding quarters. Magistrates also agreed to supply the Friends of Barren River Lake with $20,000.
