Sharing the wealth: ARP allocations have benefited many in the area

YOUNGSTOWN -- Starting with the announcement in March 2021 that the Mahoning County commissioners were receiving $44 million in American Rescue Plan funds to offset the economic harm brought on by COVID-19, there has been excitement that the funds would make communities better, possibly even "transformational."

The commissioners from Mahoning and Trumbull counties met in late June 2021 to talk about a collaboration. A week later, Mahoning commissioners were announcing their first allocation -- $300,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley to provide more food to people in need.

The funds came from the $1.9 trillion federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which was approved in March 2021 to accelerate the nation's recovery.

Several days later, major local economic development groups made presentations to the Mahoning County commissioners on projects that would help the community, such as funds for the county's new Campus of Care on East Countyline Road in Austintown.

Valley Partners of Liberty suggested allocating funds to its organization to create a revolving loan fund to continue offering small business grants the way it had done earlier in the pandemic with CARES Act stimulus funds.

By September 2021, officials were lamenting the restrictions that had been placed on how the $250 million in ARP funds coming into the Mahoning Valley could be used.

"A lot of the CARES Act money came to communities without a lot of strings attached. This is a lot different. Every string is attached," said Terrence Slaybaugh, vice president of infrastructure and sites with JobsOhio, during a Lunch & Learn panel presented by the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber.

Slaybaugh called the ARP funds a "generational opportunity" to make the state of Ohio stand out among other Midwestern states. He added that guidelines for the funds -- which still were being finalized -- say they must be used specifically to help people, businesses and areas impacted by COVID-19. He said the guidelines prevented using the money for "traditional" economic development.

By Oct. 7, 2021, with help from the county prosecutor's office in interpreting the ARP rules, the commissioners allocated $2 million to Valley Partners for the revolving loan fund and $453,000 to Meridian HealthCare to enable it to improve its facility on West Chalmers Avenue on the South Side. The commissioners later added another $1 million to the revolving loan fund.

VALLEY PARTNERS

Teresa Miller, Valley Partners executive director, said the $3 million was so Valley Partners could make small-business loans of up to $100,000 at low interest rates for a short term.

When asked last week how it turned out, Miller said, "We have exceeded our expectations. As of Sept. 30, 2023, we have lent the funds to 37 companies for a total of $3,257,325. As a result of these projects, 168.5 new jobs are expected to be created in the next two years for Valley residents."

She said the goals for the money were to "get the funds into the hands of Mahoning County businesses affected by the pandemic that needed access to capital to start or grow their business."

Miller said it was a great decision for economic development because it's not a quick, one-time fix.

"The fund will revolve in perpetuity and be here 40 years from now for other entrepreneurs to start or expand their business," she said. "As the loan funds are paid back, they remain in the account for lending, and that is how it revolves."

She noted that the $3,257,325 "has already revolved and been lent out."

The commissioners also awarded Valley Partners another $1 million that was used to make small business grants of $10,000 or less based on their revenue loss from 2019 to 2020 because of the pandemic. That money went to 110 small businesses.

COMMISSIONERS

When Mahoning County Commissioner Dave Ditzler was asked last week what he thought was the most effective use of the funds, he said his focus always has been about directing the funds toward helping people, businesses and infrastructure.

People needed assistance with food and utilities, businesses needed help to stay afloat during critical times and he said funds for infrastructure were done to improve communities and "create economic development for job opportunities."

Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti said she is thankful for the ARP funding and specifically mentioned the help given to small businesses through Valley Partners and nonprofit organizations.

Traficanti said the revolving loan fund was a unique opportunity.

"Before, communities like us never had that opportunity to fund a revolving loan fund for businesses, so the ARP money gave the county the ability to allow businesses to apply for funds that they may never have had the ability to do," he said. "It allowed businesses to make applications to keep their businesses, to expand businesses."

NONPROFITS AND GOVERNMENT

On Oct. 15, 2021, the commissioners allocated $500,000 to Catholic Charities Regional Agency and $500,000 to the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership to distribute to people needing mortgage assistance.

A week later, on Oct. 21, 2021, the commissioners revealed a $1 million allocation to Boardman Township to help pay for the $3 million Forest Lawn Sanitary Sewer Park along Market Street. Its goal is to alleviate flooding in the township.

Boardman Township Trustee Tom Costello said recently that construction of the 1 million-gallon park is expected to begin in the spring.

The commissioners also announced they were allocating $750,000 of ARP funds to assist Campbell with its 12th Street Corridor Project, which involves reduction of blight, street-scaling and assistance to small businesses. Sarah Lown of the Western Reserve Port Authority was involved in the project through the Mahoning County Community Improvement Corp., which the port authority manages.

In November 2021, the commissioners allocated $300,000 to the Mahoning County Agricultural Society to add restrooms to the new Event Center at the Canfield Fairgrounds and $368,361 to Mahoning County Public Health to address racial equity and transportation issues.

EQUINE FARM

A lesser-known group receiving funds was the nonprofit Foster's Farm Therapeutic Center on East South Range Road in Petersburg. It is an equine and recreational facility that offers "a safe and positive experience to help students in need, especially at-risk children," said Megan Foster, a member of the Foster family that runs it. Her mother, Bonnie Foster, is a board member.

The commissioners allocated $170,000 in November 2021 to assist with the construction of a barn and indoor horse-riding area. The group built the barn and held an open house Oct. 28 to mark the completion of the project, which was partly paid for with the ARP funds.

Megan Foster said last week the facility's goals are to "help students heal by building a relationship with the horses and other animals. The youth are able to care for and bond with the animals, allowing them the ability to build self-esteem."

The program also encourages creativity, assertiveness, leadership, teamwork and positive relationships. It helps them learn how to work through frustrations and fears and how to take constructive criticism, she said.

HALFWAY

After allocating $4.5 million in late November 2021 to speed up the start of construction on roads, bridges and other projects approved by voters, the commissioners had allocated about $20 million of its $44 million.

The following month, they allocated $1.75 million to the Western Reserve Port Authority to continue upgrades at the Campus of Care. The port authority manages the facility on behalf of the county commissioners. Projects included asphalt resurfacing; upgrades to water, sewer, plumbing and electric; and sound system and lighting upgrades. Other areas are work on residential units.

To start 2022, about $650,000 was allocated to the Mahoning County Domestic Court to hire a full-time magistrate and assistant to eliminate barriers to domestic violence victims getting protection orders where warranted.

In February 2022, they allocated $250,000 to Animal Charity of Ohio, the county's humane agency, to have a second humane agent for three years. The group operates on donations.

Audrey Tillis, county administrator, said about $24 million had been allocated so far. The county had received about $21 million of that from the federal government at the time with another $21 million coming later in 2022.

In March 2022, the commissioners awarded $185,000 to the county recorder's office to "backscan" deeds, mortgages and other documents from 1980 to 1985. In May, they announced the allocation of $250,000 to the Campbell Board of Education for the Whole Child Whole Family Service Center, which provides specialized mental health services and pediatric care, Campbell Superintendent Matthew Bowen said.

They allocated $79,000 in August 2022 to the Help Hotline Crisis Center and $250,000 in September to assist with redevelopment of Riverfront Park in Lowellville. Later in September they allocated $2.1 million to the MYORIS project to speed up the county's internet access and computer system connectivity across the county's 70 buildings.

In October, they allocated $300,000 to the Mahoning Valley Community School to help it get a South Side building ready to use. MVCS is a nonprofit community drop out and recovery school at 2725 Gibson St. on the South Side, sharing space in the city school district's Woodrow Wilson Alternative School.

2023

To start 2023, the commissioners allocated $50,000 to the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities for a playground project behind the Leonard Kirtz School in Austintown. The Coitsville Fire Department was awarded $144,000 in March 2023 to help with the cost of building new restrooms at its fire station on North Hubbard Road for decontamination of their firefighting gear after returning from an ambulance or fire call.

They allocated $400,000 in May 2023 to the Mahoning County Fire Chiefs Association for scholarships to encourage more people to enter the emergency medical services and firefighting fields and brought the total of funds allocated to Valley Partners for its revolving loan fund to $3 million.

In June 2023, they allocated $1.5 million to expand broadband services to underserved rural areas within the county. The areas are in Springfield, Goshen, Milton, Jackson and Smith townships.

At a commissioners meeting in late June, they allocated over $3 million, including $475,000 to the city of Struthers for a Vactor truck that will help with the upkeep of the city's sewer mains; $348,000 to Austintown for stormwater construction and replacement; and $150,000 to Family and Community Services for a shelter for veterans.

In July 2023, they allocated another $250,000 to Animal Charity of Ohio to help it improve a second building it now owns at 8469 Southern Blvd. in Boardman. They later added $250,000 for the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods, or ACTION, to operate its Mobile Market, which involves use of a van that travels through Youngstown. The program's goal is to reduce food insecurity and provide healthy food.

In August, the commissioners allocated $100,000 each to the Community Food Center Inc. and its Gleaners Food Bank on Pyatt Street in Youngstown and to New Bethel Baptist Church for its multipurpose community center project on Hillman Avenue on the South Side.

As of September, about $2 million in ARP funds were left after allocating about $12.4 million in 2023, about $8.4 million in 2022 and about $21.4 million in 2021.

Tillis said the commissioners have until the end of 2024 to complete their allocations.

The total allocation from the federal government was $44,418,992, Tillis said. At some point, the county was notified that the total was about $42 million, but that turned out to be erroneous, Tillis said.