$18 million in grants get conditional OKs

Forty-nine Berks County businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities will be receiving grants via an $18 million round of funding for community improvement projects, after county commissioners voted to approve the distribution.

Officials noted that the grant approvals are subject to further review by the county solicitor’s office.

Funding for the grant awards came from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which sent $350 billion to state and local governments to aid response and recovery in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Berks received a total of $81 million from the Rescue Plan.

The initiatives approved for grants Thursday night are wide ranging.

They include additions and new projects to expand indoor and outdoor recreational space, expansions and improvements to educational facilities, renovations to sewer systems and other municipal infrastructure, and projects to expand employment training and medical services and provide food and shelter to the homeless.

“We really tried to cover a wide extent of the community to understand all of the needs that were submitted to the community,” said Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt.

Commissioner Christian Y. Leinbach noted that the commissioners removed themselves from the grant application and review process, instead relying on a committee of volunteers to look over applications.

“We felt it was necessary to take any politics out,” Leinbach said. “We upset some people actually because they approached us and wanted to advocate for their project, and we said you can’t do that, you need to go through the process the same as everybody else.”

Leinbach said the county received over $120 million in grant requests, $34 million of which qualified for grants.

He said the county plans to distribute another $10 to $12 million in a second round of Rescue Plan grant funding next year.

The amount each project received ranged from $1,603 to $1 million.

Some of the largest awards went to the following organizations:

• Albright College, $1 million for renovating the campus library into an educational and cultural center.

• Alvernia University, $1 million for renovations for the School of Nursing and Healthcare Simulation Center.

• Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust and Building a Better Boyertown, $977,500 for turning the Boyertown Yard into a community event space.

• Fleetwood Municipal Authority, $1 million for increasing the capacity of Fleetwood’s wastewater treatment plant.

• Reading Area Community College, $1 million for redesigning Weitz Hall to increase classroom and lab spaces for health science programs.

• Robeson Township Municipal Authority, $1 million for installing a low-pressure force main along Route 568.

A full list of grant recipients is available on the county’s website, under the American Rescue Plan tab.

At the meeting, leaders from local YMCA organizations and the Olivet Boys’ & Girls’ Club described their plans for the grants, and the affect the money would have on their facilities and operations.

Kenneth Borkey Jr., vice president of the YMCA of Reading & Berks County, said the grant money— $403,739 — will fund renovations to parts of their facility in Reading that host the county’s treatment court programs, which he said help people maintain drug and alcohol abstinence.

The $475,500 awarded to Olivet will help fund much-needed security and safety upgrades at the organization’s buildings, said Christopher Winters, Olivet president and CEO.

“Thousands of children call our clubs home … in some cases, they just come in because we’re safe,” Winters said. “By allowing us to continue this project, we’re going to be able to make significant safety improvements, to increase opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have.”

Commissioners thanked the volunteers on the grant approval committee for their hours spent selecting qualified applicants.

Leinbach noted that he’d never seen the influx of federal money the county has seen in the past few years.

He said he’s had discussions with county leaders from across the U.S. about the future of federal funding.

“We may be flush with cash right now … there is a strong belief the pendulum is going to swing the other way. You can’t create money out of thin air,” Leinbach said. “I say that, so people are aware we are being extremely cautious. We want to protect the county, not just short term, but long term.”

To that end, he said the county is beginning studies on an actionable economic development strategy.