Quorum Court reassigns $1 million in ARPA funds to emergency operations center after debate over Accelerate housing project

The Washington County Quorum Court voted to ask counsel to draft an ordinance allocating $1,000,000 in county federal recovery funds to the county Emergency Operations Center, after a lengthy discussion about whether the money should instead remain available to an Accelerate Foundation‑backed affordable housing project.

The committee considered a presentation from Accelerate Foundation chief executive Webster, who outlined an affordable housing proposal in Springdale in partnership with Mercy Housing: a proposed 150‑unit development, structured as a 4% low‑income housing tax credit (LIHTC) deal with an estimated total project cost of roughly $45 million. Webster said the county had earlier received $1.4 million in ERA‑2 funds and $300,000 for nonprofit stabilization, and that an additional $1 million in fiscal recovery funds (FRF) originally…