Mississippi County Awards $200,000 to City of Manila through Infrastructure Grant Program

pictured, from left: Mississippi County Judge John Alan Nelson, Manila Mayor Tracey Reinhart and Justice Michael White

On June 14, 2023, the Government of Mississippi County, Arkansas announced it has awarded $200,000 to the City of Manila, Arkansas, through the county’s Mississippi County Infrastructure Grant Program. The funding will be used to partially fund the City of Manila’s Water Tower Refurbish/Repair Project of its 300,000-gallon water tower to continue to provide safe, clean drinking water to the city without interruption.  

The project will “blast” the entire interior of the tank and then fully coat the interior and seams. The City of Manila will also pressure wash, prep, prime and paint the exterior and make repairs ranging from replacing missing bolts and adding gaskets to repairing level indicators. This investment by the county will also allow the city to renovate and repair Manila’s other, older 50,000-gallon water tank.

“Clean, safe drinking water is one of the most basic, fundamental needs people have,” said County Judge John Alan Nelson. “We are extremely proud to be able to help the City of Manila finance this project, which will allow the city to continue to provide it to not only existing residents but also to their rapidly growing population for years to come.”

“With continued cooperation of our county and city governments, Mississippi County has a great opportunity to thrive. We so appreciate being a part of Mississippi County and are so thankful for this grant to improve our part,” said Mayor Tracey Reinhart.

On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law. Among many other provisions, ARPA provides direct funding to each county in the United States through what is called the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Relief Fund (CLFRF). Mississippi County, Arkansas received $7,895,980 and has designated $2 million to fund the "Mississippi County Infrastructure Grant Program.”

The Mississippi County Infrastructure Grant Program will fund innovative, effective infrastructure projects designed to address the infrastructure needs of the County. Each grant will provide up to $200,000 for cities/towns within Mississippi County and can only be used for infrastructure projects pursuant to Arkansas Constitution, Article 12, Section 5 as incorporated into Article 12 by Amendment 97. These grants will fund up to 75% of project costs, with 25% cost matched by the applicant municipality.

Only Mississippi County towns/cities were eligible for the grant and the funding allocated by Mississippi County for this grant program may be used to assist with Infrastructure project planning or implementation with a priority for projects that address areas of greatest need and serve those most at-risk. The following are types of projects eligible under this program: land acquisition, site preparation, rail spur construction, water service, wastewater treatment, employee training which may include equipment for such purpose, environmental mitigation and training and research facilities and the necessary equipment.

An informative workshop was held on Friday, April 7 whereby the cities were invited to learn about the grant and ask questions. Applications were received from eight cities and were “scored” by iParametrics, the county’s ARPA consultant based on application metrics.

For more information, visit the County website at mississippicountyar.org.