(BEDFORD) – The Lawrence County Council removed $200,000 from the contract services line item from CARES Act funding Tuesday night.
This came after Lawrence County Emergency Management Director Valarie Luchauer cautioned council members about needing the remaining amount of money from the CARES Act grant.
“If we pay out the money for the Auxiliary Courtroom it will use all the remaining CARES Act money. We are expecting more expenses that we are expected to pay including some TeleHealth expenditures,” Luchauer told county council members.
The request for $200,000 from the CARES Act Fund and $100,000 from the Indiana Justice Institute was to be applied toward the construction of the Auxiliary Courtroom.
Concerns still remain regarding the size and scope of the Auxiliary Courtroom project and whether the Courthouse Plaza will be required to have sprinklers throughout the building.
The commissioner has not received other quotes or projected costs on the proposed courtroom since the December approval of Judge Sleva’s request for the courtroom, contingent on costs of the project.
Lawrence County received approximately $1.4 million in the CARES Act Funds. The current CARES Act Fund balance stands at $386,094.
“The county paid back a lot of the county partners whenever we had nothing in March and April of last year.” said Luchauer.
The CARES Act Funds were also used for personal protective equipment, telecommunications for those working from home, computer systems security, health department security, a transportation van for the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, a police car for the sheriff’s department, and a stipend for county employees.
