Kent County American Rescue Plan Act Proposal Catalog & Decision-Making Process

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Kent County American Rescue Plan Act Proposal Catalog & Board of Commissioners Decision-Making Process

We are excited to provide the community all the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding request proposals that were submitted through our community engagement process. In total, 319 funding proposals were submitted from individuals and community organizations. Additionally, 13 internal County department priorities were added to the list.

“We thank everyone who participated in our community engagement process and submitted a funding proposal,” said Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Stan Stek. “It has been a privilege to learn more about the impactful ways organizations are helping our residents and community.”

While the more than $2 billon in total project costs submitted far exceed our $127.6 million ARPA allocation, we encourage the community to review the proposal catalog to find opportunities for collaboration from other organizations.

“We are in the most challenging stage of our process,” concluded Stek. “The Board is currently reviewing all the proposals and will have to make some very difficult decisions on which proposals to support.”

Proposal Catalog 

A few tips to help you navigate the digital catalog:

• All the proposals are organized by theme (affordable housing, arts and culture, broadband, etc.).
• Every proposal was reviewed by our external consultant – Guidehouse - and provided a ranking based on eligibility, sustainability, and feasibility per U.S. Treasury rules.

• The impact ranking reflects how many people will benefit from the project and is based on information provided by the proposal submitter.
• All proposal comments were provided by our Guidehouse consultants.

• A “yellow” ranking in eligibility, sustainability, or feasibility means the project adheres to U.S. Treasury rules but there are gaps in information or risks associated with the proposal. Additional information will be required if one of these proposals is selected to move forward in the process.

• County staff continue to reach out to organizations that submitted proposals to request additional information.
• As supporting documentation is received, our Guidehouse consultants may change a proposal’s eligibility, sustainability, and feasibility ranking. The proposal catalog will be updated accordingly.

If you have questions regarding a specific proposal, send an e-mail to kentcountyadministrator@kentcountymi.gov. A County staff member will follow-up and address questions or concerns.

Board of Commissioners Decision-Making Process

To ensure our ARPA review and decision-making process is transparent, objective, and adheres to all federal requirements, the following actions have or will be completed:

• Our Guidehouse consultants, alongside our internal review committee, reviewed each proposal to ensure it met federal eligibility requirements, can be completed within the required timeframe, and is sustainable beyond the ARPA funding support. (first phase = completed; additional review is ongoing)
• The first round of proposers of ineligible projects were notified that ARPA dollars will not be awarded.
• October 14 – The Board of Commissioners will hold an ARPA Work Session and participate in a prioritization exercise to help County staff develop a series of optional ARPA funding packages with specific proposals and funding amounts. No final decisions will be made at this meeting.
• November 14 – A special Board of Commissioners meeting will be held to consider and vote to approve the recommended funding packages and other actions.

All Board of Commissioners meetings will be livestreamed on the County’s social media channels.

The decision-making process will likely evolve over the next two months so we encourage you to visit our website for meeting postings or to sign-up below to receive our ARPA updates.

Stay Connected

Please visit KentCountyARPA.com to sign-up for future updates.