LAWTON — Comanche County will use part of its pandemic relief funds to help Elgin cover the cost of repairing the city’s wastewater collection lines.
With little discussion, the Comanche County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously June 12 to award $480,000 from the county’s pot of American Rescue Plan Act money to Elgin. The city will use the money to repair damaged or deteriorating wastewater collection lines throughout town.
The board has used ARPA dollars to assist other Comanche County cities with similar projects, said Commissioner John O’Brien.
“This was part of the various municipalities getting help with their water lines,” he said.
Oklahoma received about $1.87 billion under ARPA, a federal law designed to help local units of government in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Comanche County’s share of those dollars was about $23 million, which must be allocated by the end of 2024 and spent by December 2026.
The county has used part of its ARPA money to help communities within the county with various projects.
Elgin’s grant does not cover the entire cost of the project, but it does make the project feasible, Mayor JJ Francais said in a June 12 email to Southwest Ledger.
“The funding accelerated this project by at least two or three years,” he said.
Francais said the project has been awarded to a contractor and should begin later this month.