In his report to the City Council in Atlantic, Wednesday evening, City Administrator John Lund said he learned of some good news from Mayor Dave Jones, who attended a League Of Cities meeting last week.

Lund mentioned at the next regular meeting, the Council will act on a Resolution with regard to the CARES act. The City, he said would (on a per capita basis), be allocated $155,100 in eligible funds, for reimbursement up to 25% of budgeted Public Safety costs associated with the Coronavirus pandemic, covering the period of March through July 1st. He and City Clerk Barb Barrick attended a webinar on the subject Wednesday morning, after being informed about the funds by the Mayor.

The Atlantic City Council dons face shields and masks during their meeting Aug. 19, 2020 (Ric Hanson/photo)

On August 4th, Governor Kim Reynolds announced the state will allocate $125 million in federal CARES Act funds to local governments to assist with direct expenses incurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of those funds, $100 million will go toward reimbursement for COVID-19 expenses. It will be divided between eligible cities and counties, with 60 percent going to cities, and 40 percent going to counties based on population, using 2019 census data. The remaining $25 million will be used to cover local governments match requirements for FEMA. Any unused money will be reallocated to local governments based on the percentages listed above.

Reynolds said the funding will go towards medical supplies and equipment, PPE, sanitizing products, testing supplies, and ventilators. It could also go towards other COVID-19 related expenses like payroll costs for public health and safety personnel or emergency staffing. It will also go toward costs associated with enhanced 211 services.

Lund said also some other items on the next agenda include the donating of City-owned lots to persons who wish to build a house on the property within the City limits, with certain provisions, such as the recipient must build an owner-occupied house, and not other structures like a garage or multi-family structures, such as an apartment.

In other business, the Council, as expected, approved the partial vacating of the Right-Of-Way (ROW) between Hemlock and Sycamore Streets, south of E. 18th Street. Each of the abutting property owners will be contacted and informed of the City’s decision to vacate the alley, and divide the ROW among the eight abutting lots. The Council’s decision followed on the heels of a review and recommendation of the matter, by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.