Nearly $2.7M in COVID relief dollars allocated

Southeast Missouri counties continue to distribute funds allocated to them from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law in March.

Missouri, overall, received $2.38 billion from the program, which it distributed to each county and major metropolitan area, based on population.

Funding in Ripley, Carter and Reynolds counties is administered through the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission, said executive director Crystal Jones.

In each of those counties, Jones said, applications and all documentation is collected by her office. OFRPC ensures all requirements are met before presenting those requests to each county commission for approval.

So far, Jones said, OFRPC has processed 46 funding applications for the counties it serves.

“It’s been quite busy. There’s a lot to review in an application, and it’s quite a process to make sure that all the support documentation is attached, and they followed procurement policies and that sort of thing,” Jones explained.

However, what is allowed, or not allowed, as far as the use of the money has been vague from the federal government, Jones said.

“They released this money with very little guidance, which is a little scary,” Jones said. “People have not only been cautious, but it’s taken us some time to work with our attorney to navigate it and untangle what they can and can’t do and what regulations we’re supposed to use.”

Ripley County

Ripley County’s share of CARES Act money amounted to $1,558,948, Jones said.

“So far, they have $1,337,490 paid and pending,” Jones said.

“We presented several applications Wednesday to the commission, “Jones said, “and they adjusted some of those applications and reduced the amount a little bit.”

Funding applications in Ripley County have come from the Naylor School District, Gatewood School District, City of Doniphan, Ripley County Health Center, Naylor Senior Citizens Center, Doniphan R-1 School District, Doniphan R-4 (Lonestar) School District, Current River Sheltered Workshop, Highway K Fire Department, Ripley County Ambulance District, Ripley County Library and Great Circle, Jones said.

“All of those are not approved yet. Some, we have not reviewed yet because they just came in the last couple days,” Jones said.

That, she said, was because of a late rush to get applications entered before the end of Phase 2 of funding, which was Aug. 31.

Carter County

Carter County’s allocation of CARES Act funds was $701,808, of which $609,691 already has been spent.

Approved funding in Carter County, Jones said, has been distributed to the county’s Health Center, the Carter County Public Library, Van Buren R-1 School District, East Carter County R-2 School District, Carter County Senior Center and the Van Buren United Methodist Church.

Of those, Jones noted, the Carter County Health Center had the largest award at just shy of $300,000.

“They have one application for the West Carter County Ambulance District for a little over $12,000 that is pending,” Jones said.

Reynolds County

Reynolds County, Jones said, received $735,596 in CARES Act money.

“They have received just over $70,000 in requests, and they’ve approved all of those,” said Jones.

Some approved funding, Jones noted, has gone to the Reynolds County Health Center, Lesterville School District, plus county and law enforcement-related expenses.

Two other applications, from Southern Reynolds County schools and Centerville schools, are in the works, Jones said.

“Hopefully we’ll get those in front of the county in the next couple weeks, and they can approve them if they choose,” Jones said.

Looking Ahead

A Phase 3 is unlikely in Carter and Ripley counties because most of the money already has been spent.

“As you can see from the balances from Carter and Ripley counties, they’re not going to have much for a Phase 3,” she said. “They’re waiting to see and may have needs within their own departments that need to be addressed.”

However, a Phase 3 could occur in Butler (numbers reported in Aug. 14 edition of the Daily American Republic) and Reynolds counties, but has yet to be determined.

“Reynolds County and Butler are waiting to see where they are at with the money after they get through all of the Phase 2 applications. They could make a decision sometime this month on whether they have enough money to go into a Phase 3,” Jones said.w