A significant amount of American Rescue Plan Act fund dollars could be granted to the Galesburg Community Foundation Wednesday night to help battle hunger in Knox County.
The Knox County Board could approve a donation of over $1.428 million towards the foundation’s Hunger Collaborative Project.
The project was created to address the leading factors or root causes of hunger in the county and is comprised of 27 local organizations prioritizing four areas as root causes in the county.
According to board documents, those causes include access and awareness of available services, workforce and skill readiness, housing and homelessness, and transportation.
The grant, if approved, would be allocated for supporting impactful grantee-led proposals addressing the factors of hunger in the county.
The funds would come from the county’s Health and Human Services Grant that was allocated to the county from ARPA.
Progress has been made on the renovation work at the Knox County Jail but a pair of packages may be rejected and rebid.
Board members will also consider rejecting the bids for two packages that deal with cleaning, flooring, ceilings, and painting.
The projects came in over budget, according to board documents, and when renegotiations of the projects proved unsuccessful, the county seems poised to rebid the work with new specifications.
Work has been moving right along and board documents also detail that the Illinois Department of Corrections would be re-inspecting the facility on November 29.
In other action, the board will consider rejecting a number of applications for American Rescue Plan Act funds that don’t serve the county outside the city of Galesburg, funds from other sources are available, or were recommended against by the State’s Attorney’s Office.
The County Board in its current form holds its final meeting at 6 o’clock at the Galesburg City Council Chambers. Next month a new board will be seated and take the oath of office.
