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St. Lucie County says $63.8M in ARPA funds obligated across 44 projects; $27M reprogrammed in late 2024
Summary
Government relations manager Lori Rockey told commissioners the county secured contract obligations for American Rescue Plan funds and has opened 44 projects across public health, utilities and stormwater, with most remaining work now in construction and monthly oversight.
Lori Rockey, St. Lucie County government relations manager, told the Board of County Commissioners that the county has obligated nearly all of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) award and has 44 funded projects under way.
"We have $63,767,000 that we were given by the U.S. Treasury," Rockey said, and she reported the county had an obligation balance of roughly $27,000,000 to secure in contracts by Dec. 31, 2024 — a target staff met after an intensive procurement push.
The projects Rockey described span the Treasury's eligible categories: public health, negative economic impacts and revenue-replacement. Public-health uses included vaccination sites and jail medical assessments; negative economic-impact programs included mortgage and utility assistance and a small-business assistance program; the county used revenue-replacement authority for general government items such as roof and air-conditioning replacements and some road repaving.
Rockey said procurement and legal staff played a critical role in meeting the Treasury obligation deadline. "Procurement department did a great job," she said, and she thanked outside counsel and county procurement staff for helping ensure compliance with the U.S. Treasury rules.
On infrastructure, Rockey said the county obligated about $15 million for stormwater projects and roughly $36.1 million for utility projects. She noted two utility projects are complete (including an Indrio Road project identified as the first completed ARPA infrastructure project) and multiple stormwater projects and designs are under way or finished. Rockey also said the county reallocated some ARPA funds to a Tropicana purchase to free other county funding for utility-loop construction.
Commissioners asked about flexibility to move ARPA money between projects. Rockey said obligated funds are generally fixed, but unspent contingencies on qualified projects can be reprogrammed as long as the replacement uses fit Treasury categories and were allowable under the original award. She described using the revenue-loss option the county accepted from Treasury: county staff used a single-sum revenue-loss calculation rather than a formula, which affected how remaining dollars can be reallocated.
Rockey said as of the March 31 reporting period the county had expended about 31% of obligated funds and that construction oversight continues on a monthly schedule. She also listed completed and ongoing water-quality and stormwater projects by name and reported the county had secured an outside grant (Ducks Unlimited/DEP) to complete one water-quality project that had been over budget when bids returned.
Why it matters: County officials said meeting the Treasury obligation deadline avoided returning federal funds and moved multiple public-health, housing and infrastructure projects into construction. Commissioners praised staff for meeting the contracting deadlines and for coordination across departments.
Staff and next steps: Rockey said departments will continue monthly construction updates and compliance reporting; the county’s ARPA recovery plan remains posted on the county website and is updated for the Treasury-required quarterly and annual reports.
