On Thursday, July 22 the Blount County Commission held a special called meeting to “discuss broadband and legal expenditures from the American Rescue Plan Act funds”. The final rules on how these funds can be used have not yet been established by the federal government. The County has approximately 11 million dollars to use from the federal program.
Ascension St. Vincent’s Blount
Ascension St. Vincents Blount is requesting the commission help fund an MRI Machine as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. According to Greg Brown who was representing the hospital, the MRI machine would be beneficial because it would keep people from having to leave the county. He also stated that the Blount County hospital’s elderly population is high and 89% of their patients use Medicare.
The commission asked the hospital to put in a written request and incorporate the language suggested by the County attorney. Mr. Brown responded with “You want it dripping with covid?” He was referring to the requirement for the funds to be used in relation to Covid-19.
Blount County Sherrif’s Office
Captain Adkins representing the Blount County Sheriff’s Office requested funding to upgrade the radio communications equipment. There are currently coverage gaps throughout the county. With the current system, officers have to use cell phones in areas without radio coverage. They need 2.3 million dollars to upgrade the system which would benefit all emergency services within the county including police, ems, fire, and 911 services. The upgrade, which would take the existing communications system from analog to digital, would have major quality and coverage increases.
Commission Ideas
The Commission talked about a few ideas of their own. A few of their ideas are below.
- Rennovate the current courthouse. (Chris Green)
- See if funding can be used to aid in building a new courthouse. (Chris Green)
- Ventillation systems for the courthouse. (Chris Green)
- Improve road conditions. (Dean Calvert)
- Adress the entrance to the courthouse. (Dean Calvert)
- Broadband development. (Allen Armstrong)
The final rules from the federal government have not yet been issued on how this money can be used. The County is making a wise choice not to move forward with funding any of these proposed projects until the final ruling is released.
You can watch the entire meeting on Youtube by clicking this link.