The Plymouth County Commissioners delivered a reimbursement check to Plympton for more than $172,000.
The Commissioners are in charge of a $90 million-dollar fund from the federal CARES Act to help towns with expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Steve Silva says this this includes Chromebooks for students, protective gear, and two COVID response vehicles for the Police and Fire Departments.
“It wasn’t just a fire thing, a police thing, or Town Hall. It was schools, the Council on Aging. Everything has been touched by this crisis that we’ve been in for a year now, which is mind-boggling,” said Silva. “It’s expensive, there’s no way anyone could have budgeted for what we’re seeing, even if we had a remote idea of what we’d be facing. No matter what we thought it was going to be, it turned out different.”
The town received a first check in August 2020 for $6,000. Initial purchases were for protective equipment, cleaning supplies, and plexiglass for Town Meeting.
This week, the towns of Halifax, Plympton, and Kingston received reimbursement checks. State Rep. Kathleen LaNatra said it’s much-needed assistance in the 12th Plymouth District.
“It really has been a gift,” said LaNatra. “Had this not gone to the Commissioners, we wouldn’t have received the amount of funds that we have, or as quickly as we have. We’re very fortunate that the County Commissioners have received this money and County Treasurer Tom O’Brien was able to seamlessly get it to our towns.”
O’Brien says the pandemic is far from over, and lingering impacts will be felt for years. It takes partnerships from the local, state, and federal level to adapt.
“The team here is remarkable. They’ve done a fantastic job,” said O’Brien. “From the entire Board of Selectmen in the town of Plympton, Chief Silva, Chief [Matthew] Clancy, to Town Administrator Liz Dennehy. They are in constant contact with us. We’ve developed that relationship that allows us to be responsive and really help the residents and help the community.”
The County Commissioners will continue to disperse CARES Act funds through the end of the year.
He says more funding is on the way with the approval of the American Recovery Plan Act.
Fire Chief Steve Silva says CARES Act funds were used to purchase this response vehicle, used for remote testing, outreach, and education. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
Due to conditions at the Plympton Police Department, suspects cannot stay overnight at jail cells. When a person is transported to the Plymouth County Jail, a cruiser is taken out of service for decontamination. This new cruiser was purchased with CARES Act funding to help with the department’s needs. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
Former Plympton firefighter/paramedic Lillian Janedy designed the COVID Response Team and Community Paramedics logos for response vehicles. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
Plympton Selectman Mark Russo holds the CARES check with County Treasurer Tom O’Brien (far left), and Commissioners Sandra Wright and Jared Valanzola. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
