The Warren County Commission has issued $1.1 million in CARES Act funding as of mid-November, has committed up to $1.8 million more to county-wide emergency radio upgrades, and expects more large …
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The Warren County Commission has issued $1.1 million in CARES Act funding as of mid-November, has committed up to $1.8 million more to county-wide emergency radio upgrades, and expects more large expenditures before the year is done.
Warren County was granted $4.1 million in COVID-19 relief funding in the spring as part of the federal CARES Act. The money can be used to pay for or reimburse a variety of COVID-related expenses for local public agencies, as well as other community support functions related to the virus.
Based on a summary report provided by the Warren County Clerk’s Office, below are the major purposes paid for by the CARES funding thus far.
The most common expense category is recurring funding the county has issued for cleaning supplies, new disinfectant equipment, and personal protective gear like masks that the county has paid for. The county has funded supplies not only for its emergency management and health departments, but also local city offices, police, firefighters, and ambulance staff.
Most notably, the county has paid at least $55,000 in CARES funds to manufacturer DSG Industrial Cleaning Systems for devices called electrostatic sprayers and the disinfectant chemicals that go with them. The devices quickly and efficiently clean a room by spraying an ionized disinfectant mist.
The devices have been disbursed among local public agencies, and are even available for use in case of a community COVID exposure.
The county also paid non-CARES emergency funding to DSG Industrial, which were later reimbursed by CARES funds. The county’s Emergency Management Agency estimated the total cost of the equipment at $78,000 for 30 backpack sprayers and 30 handheld sprayers, along with multiple payments of several thousand dollars for the accompanying disinfectant.
Over $48,000 in CARES funding has been used to purchase various other medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and cleaning supplies for local government and first responder agencies.
Over $116,500 was directed back to the county’s own emergency fund in September, which Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said was to reimburse early supply and equipment purchases made before the county received federal aid.
The county commission in September agreed to devote up to $2.4 million from the CARES funds to upgrade or replace nearly all the electronic equipment involved in county-wide emergency communications. That includes every radio used by first responders, antennas mounted on communication towers, and computer equipment at the Warren County Dispatch Center.
A total of more than $566,000 has so far been paid to equipment vendors Motorola Solutions and A&W Communications, according to county documents.
Commissioners said the overall project might come in under budget if project leaders decide not to replace a communication tower that was originally part of the plans.
The Warren County Health Department has been the front line for slowing the local spread of COVID. To aid in that effort, the department has spent a combined $7,200 on public messaging materials and promotions, as well as $18,000 on staffing devoted to contact tracing and COVID response.
The county recently announced that it is contracting private agency Maximus Federal to perform contact tracing starting Dec. 7.
In September, the county commission distributed a combined $203,000 to the county’s two ambulance districts.
Just under $20,000 went to Marthasville Community Ambulance, the bulk of which paid for an automated CPR machine to reduce contact with patients and improve care.
Warren County Ambulance received $183,000 for seven automated CPR machines, as well as disinfectant UV light systems to kill airborne contaminants in the ambulances.
Presiding County Commissioner Joe Gildehaus said the commission is working with a citizen advisory group to review another round of CARES disbursements in December. Commissioners estimated that after the next distribution, there could be $700,000 to $800,000 CARES Act funds remaining.
The commission has fairly wide latitude to determine what COVID-related costs or hardships in the community to address with the remaining funds. Costs must have been incurred by the end of 2020 to qualify for the funding, but don’t have to be paid out until spring 2021. That means the commission still has time to consider additional COVID reimbursements.
“We’re going to see where we’re at at the end here over the next several weeks,” Gildehaus commented. “We want to make sure (we’re covered) as far as personal protective equipment, and we’ll see where we’re at on some other requests as we go.”
