The Polk County Commissioners met last week at the Polk County Government Center.
POLK COUNTY OPIOID SETTLEMENT COUNCIL RFP RECOMMENDATION
Polk County Public Health Director Sarah Reese approached the commissioners seeking approval regarding the recommendation of the Opioid Advisory Council responding to the Opioid Epidemic Response Request For Proposal grant schedule.
The state is receiving funds from opioid settlements, and the money is being distributed to counties around the state, including Polk County. “When Minnesota received the opioid settlement funding,” said Reese, “The state attorney’s general’s office sent out an MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) that other municipalities will be receiving money that could be used for a variety of purposes. One of the expectations of the disbursement of funding is that they would have community and stakeholder input in participation.”
Over the past year, the Polk County Opioid Settlement Council has collected data regarding what the opioid crisis looks like throughout the county and also reviewed the feedback of residents who have shared their personal experiences regarding opioid usage. “We took feedback from a variety of people,” said Reese, “We identified priorities within our county, and the council has worked on an RFP (Request For Proposal). What is happening next is a timeline for that request for proposal because the council advises the board, and then the board makes the final decision.” The commissioners ultimately approved the recommendation.
The Polk County Opioid Settlement Council currently possesses over $350,000 in funding. The plan is to disburse the funds to local projects (up to $100,000). On April 15, the council will release the proposal request, allowing entities within Polk County to apply for the funding. Applications will be due by May 15. “There’s a variety of things the applicants can use the money for (opioid-related),” said Reese, “The categories are prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction. So there are multiple different projects this applies to, and these apply because there have been experts who determined that these can resolve long-term issues.”
