WHEATON (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Through the American Rescue Plan Act, DuPage County is set to receive nearly $180 million by May 2022.
Unlike the CARES Act, ARPA funds can be used not only for COVID-19 response, but also for economic recovery.
At a finance committee meeting last week, department leaders proposed $67 million worth of county-wide improvements.
The “flagship” project for the entire ARPA funding involves renovating the outdated DuPage Care Center, located at 400 North County Farm Road.
“$16.7 million for modernizing the Care Center,” said Chief Administrative Officer Nick Kottmeyer. “This is going to include everything from resident room rehabilitation, nursing stations, shower rooms, flooring, ceiling, lighting repairs, oxygen and vacuum lines, handrails; it's to bring the facility into the current age and be competitive with everybody.”
Another project with a hefty price tag is improvements to the county’s stormwater system.
DuPage County plans to use $20 million in flood control, streambank stabilization, and unincorporated drainage projects.
“The purpose of those are to reduce the river flooding, countywide, [through] the unincorporated drainage projects,” Kottmeyer said. “They've identified critical areas where projects will alleviate repetitive local flooding.”
Other requests include nearly $10 million in HVAC updates at several county facilities, $1 million in IT updates, including a redesigned county website, and $18 million set aside for unexpected pandemic costs.
Each proposed project must still go through a formal review process.
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