LAWTON – Comanche County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 Monday on a list of projects that will be funded with the county’s share of American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
Commissioner Gail Turner was absent, but his first deputy, Kenny Curry, filled in for him.
The board temporarily excluded requests from cities and towns from the list because officials are still reviewing those requests. The commission also reduced the amount of money earmarked for personal protective equipment at the Comanche County Detention Center from more than $1 million to $500,000.
The list was ready for adoption except for those requests, said Commission Chairman Alvin Cargill.
“Do you agree, Johnny, that for the most part the list is complete?’ Cargill asked Commissioner Johnny Owens. “There’s still some questions on the cities and towns – what we need to do there and how we need to handle that.”
Owens said, “Yes, there’s still a little bit of confusion.”
The county is set to receive about $23 million in federal relief under ARPA, an economic stimulus bill that was signed into law in March 2021. The law includes $350 billion to help state, local and tribal governments recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oklahoma received $1.87 billion in ARPA funds for projects that will benefit all residents, plus $1.32 billion for local governments. Comanche County received half of its allocation – about $12.5 million – in 2021 and recently received the second installment.
The county has received about $63 million worth of requests for funding but only has a little over $23 million available, Cargill said. He added that the county has hired a consultant to review the requests, compile a list and send it back to the commissioners for further study.
“That’s the way we have to do it, and it’s very hard and cumbersome to try to figure this out,” Cargill said. “I think we’re close on everything except for the cities and towns.”
Cargill made a motion to approve everything on the list as presented, reduce the allocation for personal protective equipment at the jail and temporarily exclude cities’ and towns’ requests.
Owens asked whether the commissioners could have more time to review the list before voting on it.
“I would like to look at it a little bit more,” he said. “I don’t have any problem with what you’re saying, but I had some questions myself, in my mind, this weekend.”
Cargill said postponing the vote would not hurt anything, but he noted that the commission will need to approve the list at some point so the county can move forward with those projects.
“We’ve got until 2024 to have all the money allocated and then 2026 to have it spent,” he said.