Pipestone County has received $886,309.50 from the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Pres. Biden earlier this year.
That’s half of the $1,772,619 the county will receive through the program. The county will receive the second half in May 2022.
Broadband is an option for investment…
County Administrator Steve Ewing said during the May 25 Pipestone County Commissioner meeting that the county has until Dec. 31, 2024 to incur and obligate the funds and until Dec. 31, 2026 to expend the funds and complete all work. He said the information about what the funds can be used for is still “somewhat vague.”
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the funds can be used to support public health response to the pandemic, address negative economic impacts caused by the pandemic, aid communities and populations hardest hit by the crisis, replace lost public sector revenue, provide premium pay for essential workers, and invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
It sounds like they have at least considered it…
“There is a clause in there that says if small units of government don’t want to use it, they can in turn give it to the county and we can utilize their money to build a nest egg for other larger projects,” Ewing said. “We could partner with some of the townships on some broadband possibilities too.”
Blandin on Broadband 