Kennebec County says $13.5 million in ARPA spending tracked as VOA housing, Webster playground and Civic Center roof move forward

Kennebec County staff told commissioners the county has obligated its American Rescue Plan Act funds and submitted the required project-and-expenditure report to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

"To date, the county has received 13 and a half million dollars in external grant project expenditures," Barry Dunn said during an ARPA update, adding that all county ARPA funds were obligated and that the county had submitted its required report on July 22. "We had one project that came just a little bit under budget at $250. We moved the surplus of that $250 to the jail doors project."

The county provided status updates on multiple subrecipient projects. Representatives from the city of Augusta said the Webster School playground installation was about 85% complete in July; project managers told the county they expected final attachments, paving of a track and other finishing work to be done before a closeout reimbursement request in August or September, weather permitting. The county noted the city contracted Mainex for $11,000 to perform demolition and regrading work the playground installer did not perform.

Work also continues on the Civic Center roof replacement. County staff said materials were lifted to the roof in April and GR Roofing is the contractor with Harriman as architect. The county warned weather-related delays and extreme heat while crews are working aloft could push portions of the job into 2026, though the city plans to spend the county ARPA award first so the ARPA dollars are fully expended by February 2026.

Voices of America (VOA) reported that the initial county-funded plan — previously described as 10 units of permanent supportive housing — has expanded after the organization successfully applied for additional Housing for Good funding. VOA representatives said site predevelopment remains complex and that federal and state environmental reviews and new program requirements have extended the timeline. "Every time you add new funding streams from different federal grant programs, there really is a pause," a VOA representative told the commission, and that process pushed an expected 2025 ground-breaking into 2026 while doubling proposed unit capacity in some scenarios.

Grantees and county staff said the extra scrutiny from added federal funding streams is typical: it requires environmental reviews and documentation before funds that flow through HUD or other federal programs can be spent on land acquisition or construction. County staff noted ARPA deadlines — the county has until late 2026 to draw down ARPA capital dollars — and said they were working with grantees to synchronize invoices and reimbursement requests.

Courtney Gary Allen, the executive director of NEARAP (the spun-off program from Mobilize Recovery that the county funded), reported program outcomes tied to the county award. Allen told the commission NEARAP had registered 217 participants and recorded more than 600 visits at a downtown Augusta access center in its first 30 days; Allen said the work also included door-to-door outreach and distribution of naloxone. "We actually underwent a spin off from our national partners in January, and we are proud to be our own 501(c)(3) nonprofit now," Allen said. She also reported that initial tracking indicated 15 people had been placed into treatment or recovery housing in the first month of operation.

Why it matters: The ARPA updates show the county is moving project dollars into construction and service activities but that timelines can lengthen as additional federal or state funding streams and regulatory reviews are layered onto county awards. Commissioners asked staff to continue monitoring reimbursements and to schedule site visits for projects that will have county signage or plaques acknowledging ARPA support.

What's next: County staff said they will continue subrecipient monitoring calls, expect several reimbursement requests in coming months, and will coordinate an Augusta site visit for commissioners to view Webster Center improvements.