Scioto County has about $3 million left from the funds it received under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which was intended to help communities recover from the financial impact of COVID.
According to Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis, “The reason we have that is because there a few really, really big projects that we are working on that we don’t have finalized yet.” The commissioner admitted the county was running out of time to allocate the funds.
Davis said one crucial project is the plan to upgrade radio towers in the county to allow better communication with first responders. “That will close all of the communication gaps in the county. It will be a 310 ft. tall tower on top of Fort Hill. That’s a $1.3 million project.”
Another priority for commissioners is a waterline project for Minford which would supply water to the SOAR Business Park. Davis said water demand is expected to grow in the park and in the surrounding communities. “We’ll have tanks in Minford on a higher elevation to gravity feed water downstream. That’s a big project, it’s over $1 million.”
Davis said the county also wants to invest in broadband to ensure high-speed Internet for residents but said that, so far, they have not received the good, detailed information they need to decide where to put the money. “We have been working with the Internet service providers to better understand what they’re doing. “Our big concern is rural areas. We’re worried about the gaps and trying to find out where the best place is to spend that money. We’re close. We have another meeting coming up in the future. “We have been advised by the Internet service providers to hold off until they have a better, true, full understanding of where our gaps are.”
Davis said the project is time-consuming and that it could take up to seven years to get everyone in Ohio fully connected. “It’s a long time for someone who really needs it right now. Connectivity is everything. It’s the great equalizer.”
Davis said that while people often point out that Scioto County spent ARPA funds on parks, a lot of money has gone toward upgrading the area’s infrastructure.
He said Commissioners have helped many local communities, including providing funds towards converting an unused downtown office building into the new Portsmouth City building and assisting food pantries. “We’ve really done anything we think could be a generational project that is going to matter for years to come.”
Commissioner Cathy Coleman pointed out that the Portsmouth Police Department would shortly be moving into their new offices.
Davis said parking would be at a premium in the area for a little while, but the city has a plan in place to address the problem. “People are going to have to get used to it. It’ll be a different driving layout. That’s exciting. There’s several multi-million dollar projects happening on Chillicothe Street right now.”