DOVER, Del.- One legacy from the pandemic is the debate on how to fund the recovery. Earlier this week the Kent County Levy Court discussed how to distribute more than $30 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
These funds were earmarked to help businesses that suffered financially during the pandemic.
The DE Turf athletic complex in Kent County is just one organization looking to receive ARPA money.
Commissioners decided in October that the complex would receive $1.3 million to maintain their facilities.
In a meeting on Tuesday Nov. 15, Commissioner Jeffery Hall questioned this expenditure and said it may be a distraction from the Levy Court's original priorities for the funding such as the homeless and the elderly.
Commissioner Hall shared concerns about this causing delays in other organizations receiving their funding, such as the Food Bank of Delaware.
"For the 39 entities that submitted their applications the timeline for them is important to me," said Hall. "How long is this going to take and how much of a distraction are all these other things?"
Hall mentioned that he would not vote against DE Turf receiving funding but said, "we as a body approve a certain amount of work to be done and then it seems like these other things creep in."
Fifth district commissioner, Jody Sweeney, said DE Turf fits in the framework for ARPA funding as the athletic complex lost more than $2 million during the covid pandemic.
"While they were open things were good and they were bringing in $60-80 million in economic income to the county," said Sweeney. "The one year of covid that they really struggled and couldn't get sports events there or any kind of tournaments they lost quite a bit of money."
In Tuesday's meeting Commissioner Allan F. Angel said it's important to set aside funding for the sports complex as it will play a role in Kent County's economic recovery.
The Levy Court still has several million ARPA dollars left to spend.
