Miss Snowden gave Lancaster County Council an update on American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spending and on the planned retrofit of the Burns Building for fleet maintenance and information-technology space.

On ARPA, Snowden said the county received "a little over $19,000,000" and reported that roughly $15.68 million had been funded, approved and completed, with about $3.4 million of projects currently in progress. She said staff will provide a final accounting in January and reminded council that ARPA expenditures and related projects must be completed by Dec. 26, 2026. Snowden also stated that, "for every $1 that we have spent in local ... that was $14 that we've leveraged," describing an informal leverage calculation staff used to show outside federal funds secured alongside county match.

Snowden then reviewed the Burns Building retrofit, which the council previously allocated $950,000 to upfit. She said the building is roughly 19,000 square feet with about 5,770 sq ft proposed for IT space (12 offices and 12 technician cubicles) and roughly 13,226 sq ft proposed for fleet maintenance (service bays, offices, shower/restroom, 15 service spaces). Snowdon reported recent engineering and testing showed structural damage under one 20,000-lb lift: multiple prior bolt holes and changed lift placements have split and sheared the concrete under the lift legs. Project staff said the lift has been removed from service and that rebar, new pad work and tied-in repairs will be required.

Snowden gave preliminary cost indications: engineers estimated an upfit cost of about $1,685,000 to deliver the full program — roughly $735,000 more than the $950,000 allocated — and a separate pole barn would cost about $613,000. She said those elements may need to be phased into future budgets. Council members raised operational and safety questions including fumes and HVAC separation between shop and IT areas, restroom capacity and Internet connectivity for monitoring equipment; staff said architects and engineers accounted for many of those issues and that additional cost estimates and a testing report would be provided to council in early January.

Brandon (staff) described the technical cause he observed: the lift had been moved and remounted over previous holes, causing concrete to split; he said when an ambulance is lifted it causes noticeable shaking and the lift was taken out of service. Council asked staff to review prior inspection reports and to clarify which cost increases result from newly identified structural repairs versus program changes.

Snowden said staff do not plan to go to bid until the first quarter of next year and cautioned the council that ARPA funds will be expended first on projects that use mixed funding so the county remains compliant with federal rules.

Staff will return with engineered cost estimates and recommended phasing to allow council to decide whether to request additional funds or re-scope the retrofit. No formal vote occurred on the Burns Building item.