COEUR d’ALENE — Kootenai County commissioners will decide next week how to spend rescue funds for COVID-19 relief.

The county has been allocated a $32 million share of federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The funds are to be used for the direct or indirect response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Board of County Commissioners will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 15 to vote on the ARPA task force’s final recommendations.

Composed of county personnel and legal counsel, as well as County Clerk Jim Brannon and County Treasurer Steve Matheson, the task force spent almost 10 months preparing a recommendation on whether and how to spend the money.

Read the full report at www.kcgov.us/997/American-Rescue-Plan-Act.

Each use of funds must be eligible under the appropriate U.S. Treasury regulation, which was the Interim Final Rule between May 17, 2021 and April 1, 2022 and the Final Rule after April 1.

Of the 44 eligible projects, the task force recommended that 13 receive full or partial funding:

• Kootenai County BOCC: Addition to Justice Building — $22 million

• Kootenai County BOCC: Admin Campus HVAC — $2 million

• Kootenai County Prosecutor: Family Justice Center Study — $175,000

• Kootenai County Coroner: Mobile Morgue Trailer — $6,000

• Kootenai County EMS: Ambulance Purchase Needs — $1 million

• Kootenai County EMS: Reimbursement of COVID-19 PPE & Misc. Expenses — $14,000

• Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office: Jail Generator Upgrade — $550,000

• Kootenai County Buildings & Grounds: Juvenile Detention Center HVAC

• Children’s Village: Premium Pay for Non-Executive Staff — $291,000

• On Site for Seniors: Operational Costs — $125,000

• CDAIDE: Direct and Staffing Costs for Care Program — $50,000

• Wellspring Meadows: Direct Care Retention and Sign-On Bonuses — $332,000

• IT Department: Cybersecurity and Data Backup — $500,000

The task force recommended the county spend a little more than $27 million of the available $32 million, setting the rest aside for future waves of COVID-19 or additional requests.