Westminster, MD, Thursday, June 30, 2022 – Today, in Open Session, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners (BOC) received a staff presentation updating the status of county projects eligible for allocation of State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF). The Board also voted to move forward with funding partnerships with Westminster, Manchester, and Union Bridge for municipal water projects.  

Topics discussed today, with presentation information available on the website, include:

Current FRF Funding Allocations: Updates on all project areas including Allied Agencies, Public Works, Citizen Services, Information Technology and Fire/EMS.

State Broadband Awards: To date, 5 local broadband infrastructure projects are approved for the County, Comcast, and local Internet Service Provider Quantum Telecommunications for projects totaling over $15 million. Projects are in various stages of delivery with build outs expected to be in construction over the next five (5) years. A webpage identifying areas for development and a projected timeline will be added to the county website in the future. Other future opportunities to apply for state awards are expected this fall.

Municipal FRF Overview: Information was provided highlighting the county’s eight individual municipality FRF allocations totaling over $46 million.

Discussion and Decision of Municipal Water Project Requests: Eight county municipalities were invited to present municipal water project requests to the County for partnership opportunities. Thirteen projects from five municipalities were presented, with three meeting FRF and BOC criteria.  The BOC discussed the projects and voted to move forward with the three municipal water projects to Westminster, Manchester and Union Bridge with partial funding totaling over $2.2 million.

The funds, part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), were signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021.  Carroll County received a direct federal award of $32,718,855 in 2 allocations (May 2021 and May 2022) for a grant period of 3/11/21 – 12/31/26, with funding obligated by 12/31/24.

Commissioner Ed Rothstein, District 5 said, “ This update is a good opportunity to show how these funds are being used to support our community with long-term recovery from the pandemic, especially on transformational projects like water and broadband infrastructure that will have long-term positive impacts.”

Residents interested in following the process can access information, including today’s presentation, previous presentations and recorded sessions on a dedicated county webpage, https://www.carrollcountymd.gov/frf.

Open session is available for viewing on the county meeting portal and the county YouTube channel. In addition, all meetings will be replayed on Comcast Channel 24.