HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Board of County Commissioners will have a choice to make regarding reallocation of federal funds to better accomplish the goals of getting EMS into updated facilities in Hutchinson and Arlington at their meeting on Wednesday.
According to agenda documents, after December 31, 2024, the use of ARPA funds are not allowed to be reallocated to purposes that are different from what was already approved by the commission. For those entities that have received a signed contract for ARPA funds they have until December 31, 2026, to finalize payment of projects that were identified in the contracts. The budgets for projects listed in the contracts can change within the overall scope of the work that was agreed to between the county and those entities, but the county cannot pull back the money and give to another project/entity.
For these reasons, it is the recommendation of staff that the commission approve the resolution amending the 2022-22 resolution that states where ARPA funds are spent and makes changes to the Arlington EMS project allowing for an agreement with the hospital to be in place for the funds to be allocated in 2024 before the deadline.
Another recommendation is an addendum for the change in the agreement with Hutchinson Regional Medical Center showing the new allocation of ARPA funds approved in the presented Resolution.
Arlington EMS station has an estimated cost between $600,000 and $900,000. The commission has set a requested maximum amount of $610,000 with $260,000 of the total cost coming from ARPA funds.
The requirement of architectural and engineering services may cause the amount to be above $610,000, but any construction cost will be approved by the county commission. Even at a cost of $610,000, there is a gap that would be paid for by the county out of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Reserve Fund.
The 5th Avenue EMS station cost $300,000 to purchase with ARPA funds and is now going through the design bid build process. It is estimated there are another $500,000 in costs to renovate the building.
When you add professional service fees, it might be slightly higher. The remaining ARPA funds available for the 5th Avenue project are $223,028.50 and $100,000 in Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Funds (similar to ARPA funds) available for this project, totaling $323,028.50 that must be allocated by the end of 2024. The recommended agreement is for the remaining ARPA funds and Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Funds that were identified for the 5th Avenue station to be reallocated to the Arlington EMS station, cutting most of the gap the county would be responsible for to the hospital. The full amount needed for the renovation of the 5th Avenue EMS station would then come from the CIP reserve fund.
The Board of County Commissioners meets Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Veterans Room of the Reno County Courthouse.