High-Stakes ARPA Projects Unveiled for Havasu and Mohave Valley Areas as Deadline Nears

It’s been over three years since Mohave County received $441.2 million in coronavirus relief funding through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. As of this week, less than $9.5 million of that funding remains unallocated, and the county faces a deadline of December 31 to spend it.

All unspent funds must be returned to the U.S. Department of Treasury by the end of this year. With the deadline approaching, county board members, including Lake Havasu City Supervisors Ron Gould and Buster Johnson, have proposed nearly $2 million in new projects to utilize these funds.

In the 5th supervisory district, which includes Northern Havasu and Mohave Valley, Supervisor Ron Gould has proposed directing $500,000 of ARPA funding for the reconstruction of Mountain View Road between Crystal Drive and Desert Greens Drive in Fort Mohave. The construction is deemed necessary due to recurrent flooding.

Gould has also requested $827,000 for hydraulic study projects in Havasu Heights, Yucca, and Golden Shores to provide accurate flood hazard information. Additionally, he is seeking $117,099 to upgrade kitchen, HVAC, and ventilation systems at the Fort Mohave charter school, The Academy of Building Industries.

Another proposal from Gould includes a $25,000 project to add ADA-compliant features to Fort Mohave Community Park.

In District 3, Supervisor Buster Johnson has suggested using $400,000 for new data storage solutions across almost all county departments. The funds would purchase Dell PowerScale hardware and software, enhancing software recovery and off-site data storage capacity.

Supervisor Hildy Angius from the 2nd Supervisory District has recommended spending $50,000 to support the Bullhead Regional Food Bank. The funds would be used to buy a walk-in cooler, powered stacker, electric pallet truck, and a 1,000-pound scale.

The Mohave County Board of Supervisors is set to discuss and potentially vote on these projects, which total over $1.9 million in ARPA funding, at their next meeting on Monday in Kingman.