Rescue Plan Injects Millions into Orange County Upgrades, Construction

By Lisa Ramirez, Director of Communications

Nearly $75 million in American Rescue Plan funding will go to Orange County public safety, security and infrastructure improvements, Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus has announced.

Orange County received $74,770,002, its share of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed by Congress. Signed by President Biden in March 2021, the ARPA aims to accelerate and shore up the national economy and provide aid to communities as they recover from the economic and public health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The county Legislature approved the expenditures by a vote of 20-0.

Neuhaus extolled the region-wide benefits of the ARPA projects at the spring meeting of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, held April 20 at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, where he presented the annual State of the County address. Neuhaus had delivered his official State of the County at the

Emergency Services Center in Goshen to lawmakers, staff and others the night prior.

Key projects in the county’s ARPA plan include:

• Medical Examiner’s Office

$24 million for a new, state-of-the-art Medical Examiner’s Office, including a public entrance and waiting area, a family room, and exam rooms

• Recruitment and Retention

$16.3 million for the recruitment and retention of county employees

• Security Upgrades

$6.3 million for security upgrades at 30 different county government buildings

School Safety

$6 million will be dedicated to enhancing school safety, including upgraded radios to ensure communications during emergencies

• Morrison Hall

$5 million for asbestos abatement and a new roof for the turn-of-the-century mansion that serves as the centerpiece of the SUNY Orange campus in Middletown

• Orange County Information Technology Department

$4.5 million for new equipment

• Cromline Pump Station

$1.5 million for upgrades

• Thomas Bull Memorial Park

$1 million for water improvements at this 719-acre county park in Montgomery

The county executive also noted several other construction projects and possible opportunities on the Orange County horizon, including Amazon, Choice Films/ Umbra Stage, the Green Thumb cannabis project in Warwick, the Grand Street Properties’ plan to build 80 hotel rooms in Downtown Newburgh, and Royal Wine in Goshen.

And two proposals are being discussed, he said; the conversion of Camp LaGuardia into a county park — another possible ARPA-funded endeavor — and a feasibility study to explore the construction of a Conference Center.

Said Neuhaus, “The economy is rolling.”

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