Parks district to receive $12K under coronavirus relief plan
The Tehachapi Valley Recreation & Park District held a special board meeting Thursday evening and approved an agreement with the California Special Districts Association to receive Coronavirus Relief Fund Assistance for Special Districts throughout Kern
County.
The relief fund is an extension of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or
CARES Act. Under the act, federal emergency declarations provide additional funding to states and local governments to reimburse them for certain costs.
Up until last month, special districts, including TVRPD and community service districts, were left out of the funding, according to TVRPD District Manager Corey Torres.
Last month, the Kern County Board of Supervisors voted to include special districts and set aside $2 million for reimbursement of COVID relief expenditures, such as protection gear, sanitizer and telecommuting equipment.
“It’s not a huge amount, but it’s something that we gladly take back,” Torres said.
This money does not include loss of revenue.
Despite the pandemic, Torres said TVRPD is still able to meet its monthly expenses.
“It’s not as bad as it could be perceived. We, of course, want to be able to run programs, but we are still paying our bills and maintaining our parks and facilities,” Torres said.
Although the office site remains closed to visitors, and the playground equipment at the parks is closed, Torres encouraged the public to use the parks for exercise and general health.
“We kind of lost half of our identity, which is recreation, but we are continuing to keep our eye on the county and the state and seeing what’s allowed,” Torres said.
“We are also looking every way that we can to try and adapt and move forward. We want to be there for the community, and start running programs once it’s safe again. It’s part of who we are.”
Instrumental in helping TVRPD file for the funds was Cole Karr, public affairs field coordinator for CSDA.
“Kudos to Cole Karr. He is a huge advocate for getting us this funding. He was one of the biggest forces in getting this pushed forward through the Board of Supervisors,” Torres said.
According to Karr, Kern County is one of two counties in the state that has opened up its Coronavirus Relief Fund for an open enrollment period for special districts.
“This is significant. It is a huge issue across the country,” Karr said.
For more information about the Coronavirus Relief Fund for Special Districts, contact Karr at (417) 861-7418.