Seward County approves $300,000 ARPA reimbursement for City of Seward water tower
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Summary
The Seward County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously March 31 to reimburse the City of Seward $300,000 in previously allocated American Rescue Plan Act funds for construction of a new water tower, citing project delays that risked losing the funds when they expire at year-end.
The Seward County Board of Commissioners voted March 31 to pay the City of Seward $300,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward construction of the city’s new water tower. Commissioner Darrell Zabrocki led the discussion and proposed the reimbursement after the county and city identified unexpected delays in project work that could push completion past the ARPA funding window.
The board approved the payment on a motion by Commissioner Darrell Zabrocki, seconded by Commissioner Raegan Hain; the motion carried with all five commissioners voting in the affirmative. Zabrocki said he had worked with city officials to compile expenses to date and recommended using the already-allocated ARPA amount to reimburse those costs.
The action follows earlier county allocations for the project; commissioners said the decision was driven by a timing risk—the removal of the old tower and other delays could mean the city would not be able to complete billable work before ARPA funds are no longer available. The board did not specify additional conditions or a payment schedule in the motion.
The board’s approval appears limited to the $300,000 amount previously earmarked for the project. The county did not adopt additional ARPA policy changes at the meeting; commissioners discussed the timeline for completion and documentation of expenses but did not require further approvals beyond the reimbursement motion.
Next steps: the county will proceed with the reimbursement to the City of Seward; no additional county action on this item was scheduled at the meeting.