TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Thursday evening the Vigo County Council held a sunshine meeting to hear how the community wants them to distribute their funds.
However, this year’s meeting was a little different because Vigo County received $20,000,000 in ARPA funds. Councilman Travis Norris explains what these funds are and how they can be used.
“These are federal funds that have been handed down to states and counties to be used for things like revenue loss,” he said. “The nice part is that it helps that it can be used for other projects to help stimulate the community and things like that.”
There were projects and organizations of all varieties that pitched why they deserved some of these funds. These included repainting the Vigo County Courthouse dome, bridge replacements, and even the expansion of water services in southern Vigo County.
Vigo County Commissioner Mark Clinkenbeard said that they want to try and cover every area that is in need.
“We do want to spread it around to as much as we can to try and drive housing, try and fix water problems, and stuff like that,” he said. “A lot of good nonprofits that do so much good in our county that may need so help. It is just good to spread it around, I believe.”
Norris says that they want to be sure the money is being used to positively impact the community.
“I think that it is the people’s money,” he said. “It is getting handed down to us and I think it is important that it gets spent in things that the community can use and see.”
The council is going to vote on all of these requests next week.
