Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh outlined plans for the nearly $38 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars coming to the region during a county council meeting Tuesday.
Smaller expenses include reimbursing the purchase of an ambulance for the Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Services. Funds will also be used as part of the matching dollars for state Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, grant projects.
But Murtaugh explained the bulk of the funds will go towards expanding broadband access in the county – specifically, areas of the county that aren’t being adequately served by other internet providers.
“This project we can boast the fact that we can have high-speed fiber broadband to every parcel within Tippecanoe County,” he said. “That’s a project we’re incredibly excited about.”
The project is in partnership with the internet provider Tipmont Wintek. In a press release, the company said that by 2024 “nearly all Tippecanoe County homes and businesses will have access to broadband internet.”
Other major funding projects include over $4 million to decommission two dams, Marsh Lake and Pretty Prairie, which Murtaugh said were both in “poor” condition.
“The price tag has been steep and when this became an allowable expense we recognized this is probably the time to get this done,” he said.
Murtaugh called the presentation a “working document” and noted that the dollar amounts and projects might change as things move forward.
