Alachua federal stimulus awards top $20 million

ALACHUA – As the federal government works to dole out the $787 billion of stimulus money under the American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA), cities with shovel-ready projects are taking advantage.

Alachua is one of the cities capitalizing on this opportunity, already securing grants for three projects: a new wastewater treatment facility, a new digital radio system for the police department and a public bus service.

The city was awarded $76,684 for the public bus system, also known as City of Alachua Transit System (CATS), and $153,747 for the new police radio system. But the lion’s share of the city’s stimulus money, $20 million, was awarded for the wastewater treatment facility.

The money may seem unevenly distributed in favor of one project, but it isn’t up to the city to decide which project it sees fit to allocate the stimulus money. Funding is awarded by a number of different federal and state departments based on a variety of different criteria.

“The process for each award is different,” Alachua Interim City Manager Traci Cain said.

The city was able to receive such a large grant for the wastewater project because it was considered “shovel-ready” by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Construction is already underway on the facility, which has been in the works since 2003, Cain said.

The money for CATS came from a Florida Department of Transportation grant, and the money for the new radio system came from a U.S. Department of Justice grant.

These are the only three projects for which the city has sought stimulus funding, but with a majority of the stimulus money still uncommitted by the government, the city is considering other projects, Cain said.

According to the ARRA Web site, recovery.gov, only about $200 billion of the $787 billion dollars have so far been awarded leaving a great deal of opportunity for future project funding down the road.

“The city will continue to evaluate its Capital Improvements Program for projects to secure funds for infrastructure, quality of life improvements, communications, reclaimed water systems, etc.”

At the Monday commission meeting, resident Michael Canney asked if the procuring of money on previous projects would hurt the city’s chances of getting grants later.

Cain said, in an e-mail, it isn’t clear what effect the three grants already secured will have securing future grants.

“ARRA funds are funneled through many agencies and the selection/award criteria are different for each,” Cain said. “The City will continue to pursue grant funding, ARRA or otherwise, regardless of our early success in securing ARRA funds.”

Alachua has been the most successful city in the county outside of Gainesville in securing stimulus money.

Hawthorne, Newberry, Archer, Micanopy and High Springs have all received significantly less money, according to the latest information at recovery.gov.

The stimulus program is not just about building infrastructure, but also about creating jobs. Cain said it can be hard to judge the jobs created from the city’s three stimulus projects, but the benefit to the community is wide-reaching. A new wastewater facility will allow the city to pursue future development, CATS will give transportation to those who don’t have it and a new radio system will help the police department’s ability to communicate with other departments and respond to emergencies.