County finance committee prioritizes ER, sewer upgrades for ARPA funds - Greenville Journal

The Greenville County Council Finance Committee is recommending spending the county’s $18.5 million in remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds on three projects that would reopen an emergency room in the northern portion of the county, upgrade aging sewer lines and create a new emergency operations center.
The committee heard a range of requests at its Aug. 22 meeting. After a number of questions and debate, the committee voted unanimously to recommend the full council consider spending the federal pandemic funds on the following:
At a workshop prior to the committee meeting, Prisma Health Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Clarence Sevellian briefed the committee on a proposal asking the county for $16.4 million to help cover the costs of reopening the North Greenville emergency department.
In exchange for the county funding, Prisma Health would commit to keeping the ER operational for seven years, by which time the hospital system expects growth in the area to enable the ER to become self-sustaining.
At the same workshop, MetroConnects proposed using $4 million in county funding to help secure $20 million in state grants to replace 120-year-old sewer lines in Dunean and Mills Mill. Those two systems are the highest priority in a larger $100 million effort to replace aging sewer lines in the eight former mill wastewater systems comprising the textile crescent west of Greenville.
With requests totaling more than the available ARPA funds, the committee opted to reduce the amount for each request so that each project could at least receive a significant portion of the funding needed.
With the committee’s approval, the matter will go before the full county council in September.