SWEETWATER COUNTY — The Sweetwater County Commissioners hosted a special meeting Friday morning to review applicants for the Charitable Organization Relief Program, which is Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funded program being provided to charitable and non-profit organizations that have been impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

Sweetwater County was allocated $932,414 by the state under the program. Population metrics were used to designate the allocations to the counties.

The Charitable Organization Relief Program provides funding for charitable and non-profit organizations that provide a public service or has seen a decline in donations during the pandemic. The County Commissioners are responsible for making distribution decisions.

In Sweetwater County, 14 organizations applied for funding. After hearing each organization’s request and adjusting any necessary funding requests, the 14 entities requested a total of $631,043. This leaves about $301,370 for another round of requests. Any money that is not distributed must be returned to the state by March 1, 2021.

The Commissioners unanimously approved all requests, with an abstention from Commissioner Roy Lloyd for the the Union Congregational United Church of Christ’s request, as he is a member of the church.

All of the requests were approved in full, with the exception of the YWCA of Sweetwater County and the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County Foundation, which were reduced to exclude projected increases in revenue.

The organizations and their requests are as follows:

• Holy Communion Ministries: $31,038
  • To go toward expenditures associated with the St. Christopher’s Highway program, which provides travel assistance on Interstate 80.

• YWCA of Sweetwater County: $2,537
  • To go towards loss of donations through the annual Festival of the Trees event.

• Golden Hour Senior Center: $2,702
  • To refund plexiglass dividers purchased for the dining room.

• Sweetwater Events Complex Foundation: $48,570
  • To cover costs of COVID-19 related cleaning supplies and extra cleaning labor.

• VIRS Respite Care: $11,500
  • To cover the loss in fundraising due to the cancellation fo two events.

• Food Bank of Sweetwater County: $2,453
  • To make up for costs of increased food purchases due to increased need, COVID-19 modifications, and PPE.

• Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County Foundation: $22,906
  • To cover the funds lost due to the cancellation of the golf tournament fundraiser event.

• Union Congregational United Church of Christ: $1,266
  • No representative was available to speak on behalf of this request.

• Muley Fanatic Foundation: $125,478
  • To make up for revenue lost due to the cancellation of three fundraising events.

• Green River Development Fund: $93,618
  • No representative was available to speak on behalf of this request.

• United Way of Southwest Wyoming: $214,000
  • To go towards the decrease in campaign fundraisers and diminished donation amounts from local companies.

• Boys and Girls Club of Sweetwater County: $51,720
  • To cover a 40 percent decrease in members due to COVID-19 restrictions, lack of rent, and decrease in food reimbursements.

• Sweetwater CLIMB: $21,552
  • To cover the cost of adapting programs to be conducted online.

• Sweetwater County Youth Home: $1,700
  • To cover the cost of PPE and loss of donations and revenue.

Krisena Marchal, Sweetwater County Grants Manager, said despite the approvals today, the requests will still have to go through a rigorous process of analyzing the documentation the county needs for its auditing purposes.

“An approved award does not equate to a debit card being issued today to spend this money,” Marchal said.

Chairman Randy “Doc” Wendling added that though these requests do not impact the County’s general fund, they could if an audit shows that any of the organizations received money in a fashion not outlined in the rules of the program.

“So then it would impact our general fund,” Wendling said. “It puts the County at a huge risk to move forward with these CARES grants.”

Any funds received that are not outlined in the rules of the program will be required to be paid back to the state. Wendling said the County is counting on the organizations to ensure they have protection built into their requests so the County does not have to bail them out.

The full meeting can be viewed below: