The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has been meeting a whole lot this summer – usually a very down time for the board – and, on Tuesday, Aug. 9, the commissioners held another work session to spend a whole lot of federal money from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) meant to help communities recover from the pandemic.

At the work session, the board voted to hand out $41 million in ARP funds.

The money will be used for projects in Greensboro, Stokesdale, Oak Ridge, Pleasant Garden, Gibsonville, Summerfield and parts of southwest Guilford County.

Here’s how the commissioners chose to spend the money:

  • $15 million for the City of Greensboro to support project development for the Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex intended to provide area residents with recreation options as well as health and government services.
  • $7.8 million to the Town of Summerfield. That money will be used to “support a feasibility study and initial implementation” of a new water system, improve water access for fire services and to help fund a new 115-acre regional park.
  • $5.5 million to the Town of Pleasant Garden for construction of a 4-mile water and sewer infrastructure project that will serve the town’s business district.
  • $5.9 million for the Town of Gibsonville to build a new water tank meant to improve fire protection and to make other changes that will improve water quality in the town.
  • $3.5 million the Town of Oak Ridge for “a multi-phase project to provide water service to all residents,” improve fire protection and make other improvements such as a community center at Oak Ridge Town Park.
  • $3.1 million for the Town of Stokesdale to add about five miles of new water line to secure a second source of water for the town to increase flow, and fire hydrant water pressure – as well as to “allow redundancy in the system should one line become unavailable.”
  • $200,000 for improvements to water infrastructure supporting fire protection services in southwest Guilford County – especially along NC 62.

So far, the county has now allocated almost $59 million of the $104 million it has received.