Funny things happen when a person wins a big pile of money in the lottery. They suddenly discover a whole lot of friends and relatives that they never knew they had. The same thing happened to Lycoming County when they were awarded $22 million from the federal government in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Just like the lottery winners, $78 million in requests poured in for these funds from a wide assortment of organizations in the county.

The American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, designed to direct relief to cities, towns, and villages in the United States to help these state and local governments fight the economic disruptions that resulted from the COVID pandemic. Out of the $1.9 trillion allocated total, $6.15 billion of these funds were awarded to Pennsylvania counties, cities, boroughs, and townships. They were to be used by municipalities, public authorities, 501c(3) nonprofits, and privately owned businesses.

At the Lycoming County Commissioners Meeting on Thursday, January 12th, Chairman Scott Metzger noted that they hosted a special guest two days before — US Senator Bob Casey Jr. The senator was on a road trip around the Commonwealth to inquire of the various county governments and how they were planning on spending their ARPA funds that he had voted for.

Commissioner Metzger shared what he had told Senator Casey, walking through the decision-making process that the commissioners used to make their final decision on the appropriations. All three commissioners agreed from the very beginning that the funds should go to projects that were “generational,” meaning projects that would still be used by future generations. They then began to reach out to the various community entities to learn of their needs.

The commissioners started by engaging the officials of the city of Williamsport — the mayor, and city council members. This was followed up by spending three nights of meetings with the area boroughs and township officials to hear their particular financial needs. It was estimated that about half of these government entities in Lycoming County were represented.

Then the commissioners met with sewer and water authorities throughout the county and followed that up by talking with realtors and developers. These turned out to be extremely helpful in many regards because, from these talks, the commissioners discovered that there was a legitimate housing crisis in the county. Part of the reason was that realtors and developers needed to know where the best places were to develop and requested that the commissioners organize a meeting so that THEY could meet with the various water and sewer authorities. This resulted in still more meetings designed for that purpose.

The commissioners then reached out to the conservation districts and the farmers to learn their needs.

Last but not least, in priority were those who worked in early childhood areas to expand these facilities to assist working parents.

The commissioners had a whiteboard which they used to track all these activities in their various categories, which they showed to Senator Casey. Lycoming County received just .003% of the funds allocated for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but as Senator Casey observed, Lycoming County, in some ways, showed the rest of the state how it should be done. He even remarked that this process should be a blueprint for other counties.

Of course, when there are $78 million in requests for $22 million in funds, most of the applicants are going to be disappointed as these opportunities come along very, very rarely. However, all things considered, the three Lycoming County Commissioners went above and beyond their due diligence in considering every request fairly and objectively.

The impact of those awarded these funds will be felt by generations to come. When water and sewer infrastructure is improved, developers come along and invest in housing and commercial buildings. This results in companies expanding and bringing in new jobs to the area, which then, in turn, enlarges the population and provides a stronger tax base. In the past, this was a hope — now, it is a real possibility for the future.