LOCAL NEWS

Outagamie County sets aside $14.9M in ARPA funds for affordable housing, child care development and expanding internet access

Sophia Voight
Appleton Post-Crescent
Outagamie County Justice Center

APPLETON - Almost $15 million in federal COVID-19 recovery funds will be allocated toward addressing major issues facing Outagamie County, including affordable housing, child care development and expanding internet access.

"We want these funds to not just respond to the pandemic, but better position us as a county moving forward for long-term economic and public health well-being," Deputy Director of Department and Board Relations Craig Moser told the county board at its meeting Tuesday.

The county received $36.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to be used by the end of 2024.

Of those funds, $11.6 million had already been allocated toward expanded internet access, nonprofit grants, a new 911 Communication Center and county COVID-19 expenses.

An additional $10 million in ARPA funds are allocated under "lost revenue," which have been used for information technology projects, small business grants and community violence intervention projects.

This left $14.9 million to be allocated that the county board unanimously approved for the following services at their Tuesday meeting:

  • $3,500,000 for affordable housing
  • $2,750,000 for child care and early childhood development 
  • $2,750,000 for behavioral and mental health services
  • $2,500,000 in expanding broadband
  • $1,000,000 for economic, tourism and workforce development 
  • $2,400,049 for county projects and administration services

A 2021 survey of county households and businesses identified internet, workforce development, economic development, child care, mental health and affordable housing as the top issues facing the county and that ARPA funding should address.

These top issues were reached by eight focus groups that included more than 80 different represented interests and a survey conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on behalf of Outagamie County.

The groups that were surveyed were nonprofits, rural communities, urban municipalities, hospitality and tourism stakeholders, small businesses, health care and mental health providers, economic and workforce development groups, and child care and education stakeholders.

Now that the remaining ARPA funds have been allocated, each funding segment has to go back to the county finance committee to determine how the money will be used.

The county has been conducting strategy reports in each of those six segments on how to best use the ARPA funds to address each issue.

Once each study is complete it will be taken to the county finance committee with specific recommendations on how the allocated money should be used.

MORE: Outagamie County Board sets aside $177,000 of its ARPA funds for a critical IT security update

MORE: Outagamie County plans to build a $7.5M 911 Communication Center next to the county sheriff's building

Sophia Voight can be reached at svoight@postcrescent.com. Follow her on Twitter @sophia_voight.