Courtesy | Hillsdale County
Hillsdale County officials plan to distribute more than $8 million received from the American Rescue Plan Act toward upgrading county services, according to Hillsdale County Commissioner Doug Ingles.
The county government has begun processing requests totaling up to more than $21 million from different county departments competing for the $8.8 million received by the ARPA COVID relief package, Ingles said. The Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners has approved funding for improvements in Lewis Emery Park and upgrades to the county jail’s heating system.
“We are hoping to do big impact items,” Ingles said. “We understand that this is a one-time opportunity, and so the projects we choose are ones we hope will be accomplished.”
Commissioner Kathy Schmitt, the chair of the county budget committee, said the county plans to spend the money on major infrastructure projects.
“It’s primarily on infrastructure,” Schmitt said. “In Hillsdale County, in its buildings and things that need improvement in the building’s indoor heating system, although some on IT as well.”
When deciding to approve a project, the county evaluates factors such as scheduling and the condition of the supply chain, according to Ingles. The county is considering several long-term projects, such as upgrades to the county court building and expanding internet availability around the county.
“We are in the process of deciding that very question right now,” Ingles said. “We are in the preliminary stages of beginning to go through the list of requests.”
The county has appointed a broadband task force of 20 county employees and local government officials to determine where the need for expanded broadband access is and draft a proposal to be presented to the commission, Ingles said.
Hillsdale County IT Director David Holcomb said the broadband task force will begin by surveying Hillsdale County residents on the areas that need better internet coverage. Currently, broadband is available in Hillsdale and Jonesville through both Advanced Communications and Data.net and Comcast at high delivery rates compared to urban areas. More rural townships, however, currently rely on DMCI Broadband or cell phone carriers.
“We know that there needs to be a community survey done on what is covered by broadband and what is not because what the FCC has on their website is just based on census blocks and is not as accurate as it should be,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb said the county will face roadblocks with the cost of a major broadband upgrade. The broadband task force hopes to use the ARPA money to lay the seeds for future projects.
“The whole goal is to get the internet speed increase,” Holcomb said. “We had people that we were sending home during the pandemic that could not work.”
Under the finalized ARPA grant conditions, the county must dedicate the money toward certain projects by Dec. 31, 2024, Schmitt said, with funding spent and projects completed by Dec. 31, 2026.
