(8/2020) The Adams County Office of Planning and Development is currently assisting the Board of Commissioner in the preparation of the local process to distribute more than $9 million in non-repayable grants to eligible community partners. This funding is being made available by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law on March 27. The $2 trillion economic relief package aims to protect the American people from the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19. The CARES Act provides economic assistance for local governments and American workers, families, and small businesses.

The CARES Act provides that payments from the Fund may only be used to cover costs that abide by the following three rules. First, are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19). Second, were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government. And lastly, were incurred during the period that begins on March 1 and ends on December 30.

This funding is strictly for support of COVID-19 related activities to offset the cost of direct county COVID-19 response; assist businesses and municipalities; provide behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment services; and fund nonprofit assistance programs. These federal funds are being provided to the county through the Department of Community and Economic Development. This funding source will be known locally as the Fund for Adams Investment and Recovery (FAIR). Once this process has been established and Adams County is in receipt of these funds, the local program guidelines will be made available to the public through a link on the main page of the county website. Until then, please continue to collect all documentation related to your expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Again, any expenditures must have occurred between March 1 and December 31 to be eligible for these funds.

Pennsylvania counties are currently working with the Department of Community and Economic Development to establish an understanding of the administrative requirements of the money being used for the FAIR program. As soon as this is completed, Adams County is prepared to announce the release of the FAIR program. Detailed instructions on how to apply will be posted on the county website once the FAIR program opens up. Potential applicants will choose between the Business Assistance application and the Healthcare and Nonprofit Assistance application, whichever one is more relevant to the applicant. Applicants will be able to submit applications either electronically or in person at several drop points. Again, all of this information will be available on the county website.

To highlight the importance of these funds, especially for local businesses we partnered with the Adams Economic Alliance to create a survey assessing the stability of local businesses during the pandemic. Local business owners were asked how long their businesses would be able to remain open at its current operating capacity. 16% of respondents indicated their businesses can only last for another 1 to 6 months and 28% of respondents selected 6 to 12 months. Only 25% of the survey respondents indicated they are operating at a normal activity level while almost 50% indicated they are either closed or are operating at less than 50% of their normal activity level. Survey respondents indicated their biggest challenges are the lack of returning customers and concerns about safety for employees and customers.

The funding explanation above is due largely to the work of Harlan Lawson, the county’s economic development planner. Throughout this pandemic our planning staff have been working tirelessly with our partners at the Adams Economic Alliance to assist businesses apply for federal and state grants, provide updates to the board of commissioners, and educate businesses on resources available to them. There efforts will help up as we recover, but let’s not kid ourselves, this pandemic is not close to being over.

Compared to other states, Pennsylvania has done an exemplary job in combating this pandemic, and we need to stay the course. Remember our largest industries, tourism and agriculture, require a large amount of people from outside our community to come here. If we are not a safe place to work or visit, then temporary agriculture workers and tourists will not come. Without them our long-term stability is questionable. I don’t say this to scare readers, it’s a fact and we need to live in reality. This emergency will not go away with wishful thinking, but it will become manageable as we use real science and listen to our Secretary Doctor Levine and Governor Wolf.

We have all had tough choices to make over the past few months and we still have tough choices ahead. The easiest choice we can all make and should have been making this entire time was, WEAR A DAMN MASK! It is the easiest way to stop the spread and at the same time project that we are a safe community. When I drafted this article, I thought about just leading off each paragraph with" WEAR THE DAMN MASK!", but that seemed a little heavy handed. At this point for some reason wearing a mask has become an existential symbol for either a desire to keep each other safe or a draconian violation of personal rights. That is simply insane. I wear a mask to protect others. I wash my hands after using the bathroom for the same reason. I drive on the right side of the road. Sometimes it is the cumulation small actions of people that make us great. Let’s drop the petty un-American anti-mask thing and start working towards the common good.

My point in bringing this up during a good explanation about the FAIR funds is this, money will not solve our problems, it will only help us through a rough spot. How long we are in this situation is up to us. Other countries are already getting back to normal, but we are floundering. We flounder as a nation because of a lack of national leadership. We succeeded as a state because of state leadership. At the county level we are following state guidance and we will succeed. It is now August, let’s not have this same conversation when apple harvest occurs, ski liberty opens, and the fall tourists come to enjoy the changing of the seasons. Let’s end this pandemic in Adams County.

WEAR THE DAMN MASK! And check out the county website, www.adamscounty.com , for updates moving forward.