State may get $10 billion in stimulus

By Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published March 27, 2009

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Federal stimulus money is making its way to the state, and the windfall eventually could total nearly $10 billion, the governor's advisers on federal aid said Thursday.

About $5.4 million in federal money has been certified for Thurston County projects. The office of Gov. Chris Gregoire said this week the finalized amounts are as follows:

• $1 million for the Lacey Woodland regional trail project (it also gets a $475,000 earmark from Congress)

• $1.28 million for Olympia to repave a half-mile of Union Avenue between Capitol Way and Plum Street

• $1.05 million for Thurston County for some costs of replacing the Prairie Creek bridge

• $280,000 for Thurston County and the Chehalis tribe for some costs of a turn-lane project on Old Highway 99 at Grand Mound, just north of Great Wolf Lodge

• $110,244 for Thurston County for sidewalks, lighting and crossing improvements on Steilacoom Road between Duterrow Road and Stonewood Drive

• $360,000 for Tumwater for a bike-lane and sidewalk project along Capitol Boulevard and $234,000 more for minor road repair and paving with asphalt along Capitol Boulevard from Dennis Street to Israel Road

• $554,000 for Tenino for some costs of a $751,000 street light project on Sussex Avenue

• $798,000 for Rainier for sidewalks and paving along a quarter-mile stretch of Minnesota Street, near state Route 507

Energy grants

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray also announced additional energy efficiency grants Thursday that are worth $58 million statewide to local governments and tribes.

The funds can be spent for energy audits, planning for transportation projects such as bike lanes, installing energy technology such as solar panels or wind energy on government buildings, installing light-emitting diodes for municipal buildings, and energy conservation strategies.

In South Sound, the grants include:

• $164,900 for Lacey

• $220,600 for Olympia

• $31,200 for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation

• $50,500 for the Nisqually tribe

• $64,200 for the Skokomish tribe

• $72,300 for the Squaxin Island tribe

Murray also announced $150 million in funds for military projects around the state this week. Included: $14.5 million to repair what's called the DPT Facility at Fort Lewis and $16 million to replace half of the pilings supporting the Tacoma Pier Facility that supports the Army Reserve boat mission.

The Olympian

Some projects certified to receive federal money could start as soon as April or May, and the projects should create or preserve jobs, which the state intends to track.

"You should see actual construction starting within the next three to four weeks," said Jill Satran, newly named adviser on stimulus funding to Gov. Chris Gregoire.

"The White House has estimated 75,000 jobs in Washington state. Now that we're moving into implementation, we're getting the processes in place so we can count the actual jobs," Satran added.

Satran and Dick Thompson, who is handing off his role to her as the governor's "czar" on federal-stimulus funding, both spoke Thursday to The Olympian's editorial board.

Satran said there is an effort to "move as quickly as we can, making sure we are doing it the right way, � getting jobs created."

Spokesmen for the Department of Transportation say it might take a little longer than Satran hopes to get crews working on construction sites, but they do expect construction to begin in several parts of the state by late April or early May. DOT spokesman Lloyd Brown said in an interview that bids have been advertised for some projects, and contracts could be awarded in the next two weeks.

Among the first contracts to be executed are a repaving project near Long Beach on U.S. Highway 101 and state Route 103, and a concrete rehabilitation and paving project along Interstate 90 east of the Cascade range, Brown said.

Gregoire's office has created a Web site, www.recovery.wa.gov to share information about funds available to state and local governments, as well as to help taxpayers track the progress of spending.

Thompson said the federal stimulus package approved by Congress totaled $787 billion nationwide. That included about $300 billion in tax relief, $225 billion shipped to the states and $262 billion that will be distributed through competitive grants or spent by federal agencies in the states.

So far, the state is assured of receiving $5 billion, Satran and Thompson said. That includes $940 million that is distributed directly to local agencies and programs through block grants for housing, Head Start, energy grants, justice-system aid, food stamps and local highways or bridges.

An additional $4 billion is available to Washington for a multitude of specific purposes. Thompson said Congress put strings on the money, funneling it through existing programs that have rules limiting how money can be used, and the state will have to keep records and show how it was spent.

Of the total, $341 million is available for state highways, $1.7 billion to help the state pay for additional people on the Medicaid rolls, $1 billion for state-budget stabilization and education programs, $98 million for welfare, $68.7 million for clean water and sewer projects, and $70 million for home weatherization. The weatherization alone might bring 20,000 homes up to federal requirements in the next two years, Thompson said.

An additional $1.7 billion is earmarked for cleanup at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington, bringing the state's estimated share to $6.7 billion.

There also is $3.5 billion in debt authority for the Bonneville Power Administration to use in upgrades to power-transmission equipment. Thompson said much of that could be spent in Washington.

Additionally, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and federal agencies have been announcing other large blocks of money spent through federal agencies and military departments in Washington, as well as block grants awarded on a competitive basis.

Grants

Thompson said it is the chance of winning millions in grants that caused him to raise his estimate of what the state ultimately might receive to about $10 billion.

Satran and Thompson said there are several areas in which the governor wants to see a coordinated strategy in seeking grants: energy grants available to government and private organizations; research-and-development work; money to expand broadband into rural areas; and health care technology.

Thompson said he has received many of the requests from rural areas where people want help with fire stations, and there might be money available for libraries, fire stations and other government buildings through some of the Department of Agriculture grants.

The entire process will be open, and the Governor's Office plans to provide names of contractors and grant amounts on its Web site. Most of the funds will be spent in 18 to 24 months, Thompson said.

Among the local transportation projects, Olympia is getting $1.28 million to repave a section of Union Avenue, Lacey is getting $1 million for a trail project, and Tumwater is getting money for sidewalks and repaving.