Tuesday’s meeting of Allen County commissioners covered a scattershot list of topics, including budgets, grant opportunities, internet security and the acute need for Meals on Wheels volunteers.
Following a discussion of the tax lid and which county departments it applies to, with assistance from auditor Rodney Burns commissioners approved the county’s 2021 budget for publication.
In reference to the budget, which does not include a tax hike, commissioner Bill King said “we didn’t want to put a burden on the residents.”
King also said he thought that although “the [COVID-19] crisis isn’t over, things are beginning to level off,” suggesting that the county was successfully weathering the economic impact of the virus.
Thrive Allen County CEO Lisse Regehr said that CARES Act/SPARK funds are in the process of being allocated to those entities that had made requests.
She also said that small businesses, nonprofits and food pantries should soon have additional funding opportunities thanks to SPARK, and that applications would resemble those for receiving Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies.
What restrictions might exist for those funds is not entirely clear at this time, but Regehr said the process “should be a little easier for businesses to access than CDBG.”
Becky Voorhies of Thrive presented commissioners with four new applications for CDBG monies, and said that the previous eight applications approved by commissioners had also now been approved by the state.
Voorhies noted that $45,494 remains in CDBG funding, so there’s still time for small businesses and other entities adversely affected by COVID-19 to apply for assistance.
NATE Mentzer approached commissioners to ask about the possibility of using COVID-19 relief funds to purchase internet towers for various areas of the county, especially near Geneva.
Commissioners agreed to provide Mentzer with letters of support to help the possible projects move forward.
Angie Murphy had a similar request to commissioners, although she was interested in pursuing “very competitive” funds from FEMA in order to purchase storm shelters or safe rooms for around the county, especially in smaller towns such as Mildred, Carlyle, Petrolia and Savonburg.
If FEMA granted Allen County one of its 125 awards for this purpose, FEMA would pay 75% of the total project cost, and Allen County would pay 25%.
Murphy further mentioned that interns from Iola High School would soon go to work for the Sheriff’s Office, dispatch and the county attorney’s office.
She likewise brought up a concern with “spoofing,” for example, using fake ids to pose as a county office looking for money from residents.
“We’ve had some spoofing calls here,” she said, including callers pretending to be emergency personnel asking for donations.
