KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo County has exactly $396,750 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to spend before December of 2026, after the county was given the money back from the nonprofit Young Kings and Queens.
Commissioner John Gisler, who represents district 6, thanked Young Kings and Queens for returning the funds during discussion at the Commission meeting on September 2.
The money was specifically set aside for people disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
The suggestion is that the money now be spent to help house people this winter during extreme cold conditions.
“I want to thank Commissioner Rey, for refocusing us the the original intent of these resources,” Commission Chair Jen Strebs said.
At a previous meeting, the commission discussed spending the money to fix pipes at the Kalamazoo County Health Department Building, located on 311 E Alcott Street.
Watch Julie Dunmire's Video Story Here:
For roughly a year, the water inside the building has not been drinkable due to high levels of copper discovered in the water.
Bottled water has been brought in to mitigate the issue.
FOX 17 Kalamazoo-area reporter Julie Dunmire first covered this story on August 20.
Julie has also covered the planned reduction in number of people able to be housed for emergency overnight shelter at Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.
The KGM had a long-standing practice of never turning anyone away, even allowing for people to sleep on mats on the floor if they needed shelter.
