MEDICAL LAKE— Similar to its neighboring towns, distribution of ARPA funding was a hot topic at the council chambers at Medical Lake City Hall on Tuesday night, June 21.
Koss Ronholt, the administrative clerk, presented the breakdown of funds and their distribution, which sparked conversation on proposed allocations for civic nonprofits.
“I would like more data. I would like us to be able to review the applications themselves,” said Councilmember Heather Starr. “I would like to see where the commonalities are and where we can level it out so we can make an educated decision and not just go off the cuff.”
The city of Medical Lake received $1,386,248 in ARPA funding. Officials have spent $203,93, with $175,000 distributed to nonprofit organizations, leaving a balance of $1,182,316.
Kiwanis, Medical Lake Community Outreach, Medical Lake Food Bank, Re-imagine Medical Lake and Medical Lake American Legion are among the nonprofits seeking an additional $82,762.
Ronholt’s presentation showed that Medical Lake Community Outreach had already received $100,000 and Medical Lake Food Bank receiving $75,000 in ARPA funds.
“As you can see, the allocated funding does not fund the entirety of grant applications presented to us,” Ronholt said. “We wanted to offer this to the council to offer what the plans will be for this current application.”
Starr talked with the finance committee before the city council meeting and based on that discussion, found it best for the council to wait on their decision.
“We did have a very thorough discussion about everything from the contracts themselves, who registered and making sure they’re valid through 501(c)(3),” Starr said. “We also looked at reporting responsibilities, who has funding and who doesn’t, how much money we truly have to give and is this all going to be right now that we need this or are we going to save it in case a different agency comes forward.”
There are many details that the council wants to work out before deciding where the money is best allocated.
Councilmember Art Kulibert said he would like to see the funds working directly in the city.
“I don’t want the money going outside of the community,” Kuilbert said. “I think there are many other opportunities for nonprofits to apply for money. I want to make sure that we get the most bang for our buck.”
Michaela is a former newsroom intern at the Cheney Free Press. She covered stories on education, city government, cops/courts/fire departments and local businesses.
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