photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

After a letter of interest submission process where more than 100 agencies in Douglas County requested American Rescue Plan Act funding, project totals up for review add up to nearly four times the amount the county still has available to distribute.

The Douglas County Commission is set to discuss those letters of interest Wednesday during a work session prior to the commission’s regular meeting. A document included with this week’s meeting agenda lists every letter of interest submission, detailing the total funding requested and a summary for each project. Douglas County, according to those work session materials, still has $21,103,329 in unobligated ARPA funds to distribute. The submitted projects, however, total nearly $77 million.

That document notes that a total of 139 letters of interest were submitted during the collection period. Of that group, 102 of them were from external agencies like food banks, the Lawrence school district and health care providers. The remaining 37 were submitted by internal Douglas County departments, such as the county’s administrative department and the sheriff’s office.

The commission plans to complete the ARPA fund distribution process in advance of adopting the county’s 2023 budget; that budget process begins in mid-March and concludes at the beginning of June.

Cities and schools receive ARPA funds directly, the work session materials note, but they can also request funds via the county for additional programs and projects in areas like infrastructure, crime prevention and services to disproportionately affected communities.

Some projects of note requested by external agencies include one from LMH Health requesting $4.5 million for various health care system workforce needs. There’s also a request from the Lawrence school district for $3,695,000, citing a budget shortfall for the 2022-23 school year that is the subject of ongoing cost-saving discussions.

Meanwhile, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is an example of one internal agency that has submitted multiple requests adding up to a significant amount of funding. That includes projects like a large-scale reallocation of existing jail spaces to increase the facility’s functional capacity, which doesn’t include a specific amount of requested funding but notes in the summary that it would likely cost “more than $1 million.” Another letter of interest from the Sheriff’s Office asks for $500,000 to fund a 24-hour child-care facility for essential workers.

After the work session, the commission will consider other items of business, including:

• Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health has submitted an emergency funding request to reimburse the cost of 3,000 coronavirus test kits. If approved, the county would purchase the test kits at a cost not to exceed $264,000. The test kits are intended to support Douglas County Unified Command’s efforts toward equitable distribution and access across the community. The commission approved a two-lane process to distribute emergency American Rescue Plan Act funding last year.

• The commission will consider establishing a civilian-based coroner scene investigation unit. The unit would assist the county coroner with death investigations and consist of full- and part-time civilian staff.

• The commission will consider whether to approve implementation of a consumer-driven health care plan model ahead of the county’s June 2022 insurance renewal. It will consider adopting an insurance plan that offers Health Savings Accounts or Health Reimbursement Accounts.

• The commission will consider a service agreement with the United Way of Douglas County and the Eudora Library to provide one-time funding to support the Community Navigator Project, a pilot program that aims to connect community members with resources for navigating poverty, homelessness, mental illness and addiction.

Commissioners will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. Their work session preceding that meeting begins at 4 p.m. Those who attend at the courthouse will be required to wear a face mask. The meeting also will be available by Zoom. For meeting information, visit the county’s website: dgcoks.org/commissionmeetings.

Editor’s note: This story has been revised to correctly describe LMH Health’s request for $4.5 million.