The Oconto County Board on Dec. 19 shifted $53,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to cover change orders and cost increases at the recently completed Riverview Community Center and Northern County Offices project.
County Administrator Richard Heath said the money is from the ATV campground project that was defeated in November. By law, the county’s entire $7.3 million ARPA funding had to be allocated to eligible projects by the end of 2024.
“The Town of Riverview did add solar panels to the facility and utility hookups,” Heath said. “Once we started to see the offices come together, we added sound reducing panels in the large meeting room — it gets pretty echo-ey in there.”
The additional funds also cover sealing the garage floor and window films for privacy in some conference rooms, including sheriff’s department interview rooms.
“It’s about $53,000 in overages, which I think is pretty good given the size and scope of the project,” Heath said. “We will make sure that by the end of this year, we have every dollar in the ARPA initial amount of $7.3 million accounted for.”
The resolution was approved on a unanimous roll call vote.
The new center opened this fall. In addition to town offices, one wing features northern offices for several county departments — including the sheriff, veterans services, zoning, and health and human services.
Sheriff Todd Skarban credited the increased northern presence for the Dec. 14 arrest of a burglary suspect in the Berry Lake area, who was apprehended with the help of K-9 officer Turbo.
wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com
Riverview center gets extra ARPA funds
