During a budget workshop on Wednesday, Assistant County Manager Amy Brantley reported that the U.S. Treasury Department had issued preliminary guidelines on how local government bodies can spend the ARPA money. In the coming weeks, the county expects to receive $11 million, the first installment of a two-year allocation of $22 million designed to help communities recover from the business slowdown caused by the pandemic.
Among the ARPA-eligible recipients, Brantley said, are programs that provide mental health, substance abuse and behavorial health services. That means grants of $50,000 for the mental health at the jail, $200,000 to First Contact Ministry's substance abuse treatment and $100,000 for the new Hendersonville Connections Center could win the county's blessing.