Federal stimulus money on the way

By Mark Crawford

 Now that we know federal stimulus funding will make its way to Wisconsin, work has begun in earnest on setting priorities and coordinating requests for the money.
On February 17, the $790 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law. These stimulus dollars, which target various key sectors, including infrastructure and renewable energy, will come to Wisconsin either directly or indirectly through federal or state agencies.
Wisconsin will get about $3.8 billion, which will largely be distributed through existing federal and state programs. The state will also seek more money through federal grants resulting from the stimulus package.
“In January, even before the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill was passed by either House in Congress, Governor Doyle created the Wisconsin Office of Recovery and Reinvestment (WORR),” said state Department of Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel. “His goal was to make sure Wisconsin was ready to coordinate efforts and enhance regional collaboration so stimulus funds get people to work immediately and invest in our future economic growth.”
“ARRA floats money to the states through about 130 existing programs, at both federal and state levels,” explained Gary Wolter, director of WORR (www.recovery.wisconsin.gov). “We keep track of what’s coming in and match it with projects that have already been submitted for stimulus funding. WORR does not make decisions on how the money should be spent — our job is hooking up submitters with the appropriate state agencies that distribute the money.”
WORR also looks for partnering opportunities that can further leverage stimulus dollars. Where appropriate, it may also refer proposals to non-stimulus funding sources.
 

Getting in line
Madison, Dane County, and surrounding cities and counties have been busy submitting proposals for stimulus money. Thrive, the economic development enterprise for the eight-county Madison Region — which comprises Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock and Sauk counties — is working with the region’s economic development professionals, as well as the Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, and Richland counties) to organize and streamline regional submissions to WORR.
“We want to be sure our submissions get directed to the appropriate state programs as quickly as possible to be considered for stimulus funds under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) criteria,” says Jennifer Smith, communications specialist with Thrive.
“By acting collaboratively we can make a stronger case for funding levels that will help create much-needed employment opportunities throughout our region,” adds Mark Masters, chairman of the Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. “This larger regional collaborative effort should hopefully help each individual county receive more immediate attention to their funding requests.”
There is an urgency to submit high-quality, well-conceived, “shovel-ready” projects because “the state is focusing on projects it can immediately undertake because of ‘use it or lose it’ provisions in the economic stimulus package,” said Michael Green, attorney Michael Best and Friedrich LLP. “For example, on March 17 the state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance approved Governor Doyle’s plan to spend $42.5 million in federal stimulus act dollars on 49 road and bridge projects. Bridge projects must be bid in April or face delays ranging from several months to a year for various reasons. A second round of bidding on May 27 includes three bridge projects on I-90 and I-39 in Dane County.”
 

Madison’s wish list
To get ready for the stimulus package, the city of Madison put together a wish list of projects totaling more than $75 million, $73.5 million of which could be covered by federal money. Most of these were identified after Christmas and were ready to submit as soon as the stimulus bill was passed. Right now the city expects to get about $25 million through grants for community development, homeless assistance, energy efficiency and conservation, public housing, transit capital, metropolitan planning organization (transit capital), and Bryne grants.
“Our energy efficiency and conservation block grant was just doubled to $2.4 million,” says Rachel Strauch-Nelson, communication director for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s office. “Some of that money will be used for retrofitting and weatherizing facilities and buildings. We have yet to determine how the rest of the funds will be spent.”
Cieslewicz has indicated he wants to use federal stimulus dollars to create jobs, stabilize the economy and “transform our local economy into one that is more sustainable.”
Federal stimulus money will be distributed to Madison through a network of existing programs, each with its own regulations and deadlines about how the money can be used. In many cases, the city will get a certain allocation based on a formula; in other situations, it may have to compete with other entities for state or federal grants. Madison’s city departments and agencies have been putting together recommendations on how to best spend the stimulus money they receive. Many of these plans are still being developed, and updated summaries can be found at www.cityofmadison.com/cityHall/FederalStimulus/feedback.cfm
Cieslewicz continues to hold regular meetings with the City Council and the Board of Estimates to discuss the best ways to spend the city’s stimulus dollars (if you want to throw in your own two cents, go to www.cityofmadison.com/cityhall/federalstimulus/feedback.cfm).
By way of specifics, Cieslewicz is eager to spend $9 million to buy 18 hybrid buses to add to the five the city already owns. He also hopes federal funding will be available for the Northport Avenue/Packers Drive overhaul ($6.4 million) and parts of the Cannonball Bike Trail on the North Side ($2.8 million).
 

In Dane County
“In the big scheme of things, cities get more stimulus package dollars than counties do,” said Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. So far, Dane County has received about $7.6 million; $4 million of that money will be used to extend Taxiway B at the Dane County Regional Airport, building a full-length parallel taxiway that will allow aircraft and ground service vehicles to maneuver without blocking an active runway. This reduces the risk of collision and allows planes to take off and land more quickly.
“The project is designed and ready to go,” Falk said. “I told my department heads in December to have shovel-ready transportation projects ready to submit when the stimulus package comes through.” Bids are due in May with construction beginning in June.
Next in size is a $2.3 million energy efficiency and conservation block grant from the federal Department of Energy that is intended for projects that improve energy efficiency. Suitable projects would include upgrading public facilities (for example, putting solar panels on county buildings) and reducing the production of greenhouse gases. The block grant is governed by requirements to report on energy saved or generated, jobs created, greenhouse gas emissions reduced, and other funds leveraged by the grant.
“Guidelines for how this money can be spent are still being formalized by the Department of Energy,” says Topf Wells, chief of staff for Kathleen Falk. “Right now we don’t know what is eligible. We do know there will be a fair bit of federal oversight as it is being spent.”
Depending on what the final guidelines are, some of the energy efficiency and conservation block grant money could be used to cover some costs for the geothermally heated Badger Prairie Health Care Center in Verona, which Dane County has recently reopened to bidding. Other sustainable features are green roofing and energy-efficient mechanicals. The deadline to bid was April 21 with construction starting in June.
 

State of Wisconsin
The state of Wisconsin will get $529 million in federal stimulus money for transportation projects. So far Dane County has been given about $1 million in federal funding for two bridges that were initially part of the 2009 Dane County Capital Budget (Highway N Dunkirk and Highway B Rockdale). The county dollars that had been budgeted for those projects will be reallocated to other highway projects. The county highway department is putting together other highway construction projects worth about $6 million that will hopefully win stimulus funding later in the year (some county projects will likely be eligible for federal funding through Madison’s Metropolitan Planning Organization’s $9.75 million pot).
Dane County has also received a $300,000 community development block grant and a $43,000 Bryne Grant for the county sheriff’s department.

Janesville
The city of Janesville, hit hard by the closure of the GM plant, is counting on federal stimulus dollars to boost its economy and create jobs.
“The city applied for $9 million in transportation funds,” says Janesville City Manager Eric Levitt. “We haven’t heard back yet but hopefully we’ll receive at least $2.5 to $3 million; our highway projects are very competitive.”
The only federal funding Janesville has received to date are a community development block grant ($150,000), an energy efficiency and conservation block grant ($625,000), and a police grant ($110,000).
“We’ll be using the police grant for upgrading equipment and weapons and the community development money for housing assistance,” says Levitt. “We have yet to decide how to utilize the energy efficiency and conservation grant, but we have several excellent options. We are also hoping to receive federal stimulus money for our $30 million wastewater treatment project.”
Mark Crawford is a Madison freelance writer.

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