Manitowoc County is scheduled to receive approximately $23 million from the latest Federal Stimulus Plan or the American Rescue Plan Act.
The County is expected to receive about two-thirds or $15.5 million while cities, towns, and villages will split the rest based on their size and budget.
County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer told Seehafer News they’re “offering to share the cost 50/50 with the cities and villages with their ARPA money” to help these municipalities with the replacement of lead water lateral pipes for cities and villages.
The Federal Government has prepared a 131-page outline instructing how the money can be spent mainly for costs incurred during the pandemic, but Ziegelbauer says the rules are loosely defined, and that the funds can’t be spent on highways but one area allowed is for water and sewer needs.
We asked the County Executive what they’ll be addressing with their share of ARPA money, to which he said, “We have needs for infrastructure, IT, Emergency Government, and Law Enforcement but we have plenty of money that we can share with municipalities too.”
Meetings were recently held with cities where Kiel and Two Rivers are very interested while Manitowoc is still deciding what to do.
Lead water lateral replacements aren’t needed in Townships however talks continue on how the County can help them as well under similar criteria afforded to cities and villages.
The money must be allocated by December 31st 2024 and spent by December 31st of 2026.
