The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism's request for $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for four projects and the state Department of Human Service's request for $10 million of these funds cleared a legislative panel Tuesday.
The Legislative Council's Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee recommended the Legislative Council, which meets Friday, approve the requests for spending authority, along with several others.
The Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism's request for $10 million includes a $3 million project at the Delta Heritage Trail for three miles of trail in Arkansas County, and a $3 million project at Queen Wilhelmina for trail and recreation-related infrastructure and facility development in conjunction with the Trails at Mena master plan, the department said in its request.
The request also includes a $2 million project at Pinnacle Mountain to provide pedestrian and cycling connectivity within the Maumelle Pinnacles Conservation area, and a $1.85 million project at Petit Jean and other mountain park locations to provide for facility, trail, infrastructure and recreational development improvements to relieve congestion and disperse recreational use across the parks' property, according to the department
The Department of Human Services' request for $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for the Arkansas State Hospital includes $5 million for startup and first-year operating costs to implement the secured restoration program "to divert lower-acuity restoration patients to a less restrictive environment, thereby providing capacity for higher-acuity patients," department Secretary Kristi Putnam said in a letter to Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Larry Walther.
The other $5 million is for capital improvements at the Arkansas State Hospital, which had one section built in the 1960s and another section built in 2007, she said. The hospital requires continuous maintenance because of the facility's age and wear and tear from housing acute psychiatric patients.
In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act that is designed to help the United States recover from the economic and health effects of the covid-19 pandemic.
Among other funds, Arkansas was awarded $1.57 billion in State Fiscal Recovery Funds under the American Rescue Plan.
The legislative panel on Tuesday also recommended the Legislative Council approve these requests for federal American Rescue Plan funds:
The Game and Fish Commission's request for the $5 million Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery water reuse project in Lonoke. The project will provide the rural communities and farmers who rely on the Sparta Sand aquifer for drinking and irrigation water a staggering water conservation benefit, commission Director Austin Booth said in a letter to Walther.
The Game and Fish Commission's request for $5 million for the Shirey Bay Rainey Brake wildlife management area green tree reservoirs renovations. Shirey Bay Rainey Brake typically ranks among wildlife management areas frequented most by duck hunters, Booth said.
The Department of Finance and Administration's request for $3.6 million to reimburse more than 170 pharmacies in the state for uncompensated and under-compensated care for covid-19 vaccines, testing and therapies during the pandemic period from March 1, 2020, through May 11, 2023.
The Department of Human Services' request for $2 million to cover operational costs of assisted living facilities to address the negative impacts of the public health emergency due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism's request for $1.8 million to support park, recreation and trial improvements within Russellville as part of the Russellville Connected Trail System. The project will include construction funding for a riverwalk connection development project, initiating the establishment of a link between Russellville and Dardanelle, according to the department.
The Department of Finance and Administration's request for $1.8 million to support a contract with Alvarez & Marsal to support the Department of Human Services and the finance department in operationalizing the methodology developed by the state to help support rural hospitals because of the long-term financial impacts of the covid-19 pandemic.