Bureau County Board approves more than $1M in ARPA funding requests

The Bureau County Board on Tuesday unanimously approved four American Rescue Plan Act funding requests in the total amount of $1,053,665.

Bureau County received a total allocation of $6,337,607 to assist local governments in responding to the effects of COVID-19.

The first request was granted to the Bureau County Fairgrounds and the Ag Board in the amount of $163,665 for fairground exhibit and hall repairs.

Board member Kerwin Paris told the board that the fairgrounds lost a building because of storms that passed through in the spring, and these funds will go toward helping replace the building and setting the organization up for future success.

The second request was granted to a multitude of Bureau County historical societies and tourism projects in the amount of $40,000.

This group included the Bureau County Historical Society, Cherry Mine Disaster Museum, Manlius Historical Society, Mineral Historical Society, Neponset Historical Society, Owen-Lovejoy Homestead, Sheffield Historical Society, Spring Valley Historical Association, Tiskilwa Historical Society and the Wyanet Historical Society.

The third request was granted to the Second Story Teen Center in the amount of $100,000 for costs associated with constructing a new building in Princeton.

Paris said the teen center is looking to expand on its programs and to have more room available to serve teens in the area.

The final request was granted to the Bureau County Highway Department in the amount of $750,000 for the Backbone Road project.

The total cost of the project will be about $2.7 million, and these funds will be used to help fund a portion of the countywide project.

“This is one of the major access points coming into town from the western part of Bureau County,” Paris said. “The request for funds is to allow them to stretch their funds in their department to increase the amount of projects that they can actually do.”