Stimulus money for projects slow to arrive

Quite a bit of federal stimulus money designed to spur construction projects, promised by the Obama administration to spur the stalled economy, has been delivered to the Nevada Department of Transportation.

But county government agencies still are waiting to see their slices of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act pie - and northern Nevada's construction season is past its peak.

Under the stimulus bill, Nevada received $201 million to be allocated by February 2010. NDOT was awarded $140 million, said Public Information Officer Scott Magruder, with the rest of the funds to be split between Washoe, Clark and the state's rural counties.

NDOT has signed contracts for $71 million, mostly for highway reconstruction projects.

Only one project is under way - a $7.2 million resurfacing project on U.S. 95 in Humboldt County - but four others will start by summer's end, Magruder said.

The other projects include:

• Interstate 80 resurfacing in Pershing County, $12.4 million

• U.S. 93 resurfacing in Elko County, $10.9 million

• Resurfacing eastbound lanes of I-80 near the Lander-Humboldt County line, $2.2 million

• U.S. 93 wildlife safety crossing in Elko County, $1.8 million.

"That is definitely a shot in arm to the economy," Magruder said. "That is $71 million that would not have occurred without federal money."

In addition, Magruder said, the arrival of stimulus money freed funds for other shovel-ready projects.

Larry Werner, Carson City Manager, said the city has received an allocation of $370,000 from NDOT for resurfacing projects throughout town. All resurfacing work will be contracted to private-sector companies later this summer, Werner said.

Carson City also received $3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for restoration work of the V&T Railroad, and the city is in the process of securing interest-free loans totaling $3.8 million for public works projects such as water and sewer infrastructure upgrades. Jobs should be let within the next two months, Werner said.

Magruder said strongly competitive bidding between general contractors led to substantial savings on many projects. In most cases, contracts were awarded below NDOT engineering estimates.

"We are getting some very good bids, and we attribute that to the fact that contractors are hungry," he said. "We are getting between five to seven very competitive bids on every project."

Scott Hiatt, vice president of A&K Earth Movers, agrees that the state is getting a big bang for its buck from the state's large infrastructure and engineering contractors.

"If you try to make any money on the job, you will never get the job," Hiatt said. "That stimulus work is so slim that all the contractors are really scrambling to keep things moving. Prices are way down."

Hiatt said although the stimulus funds have ensured a fair amount of work this summer, there just isn't enough work in the public sector to carry companies through the downturn.

"We are glad to have that project, but we also are in competition with every other contractor," he said. "The stimulus is not quite enough to make a jolt on the economy. There is work out there, but it's not putting everybody back to work."

Funding for local governments has been slower to arrive - and the construction window for 2009 is closing rapidly.

"It has been slow," said Buzz Harris, assistant executive director for the Nevada Chapter of Associated General Contractors. "Bidding is extremely competitive, and contractors from both the area and out of the area are bidding on many of the projects."

Dave Childs, assistant county manager for Washoe County, said the county has a few projects under way, but overall, delivery of federal funds has lagged.

"My sense is Nevada got a little later start," he said. "When we heard about it in November, we were told we needed to be turning shovels in February. It has been significantly slower going and has been kind of frustrating."

"From my experience local governments all are waiting and champing at the bit, but there is a slowdown as federal agencies try to put oversight and institute the necessary requirements to make it all transparent. That takes lot of time," Childs said.

A new 12-member stimulus oversight subcommittee of the Legislature's interim finance committee has been convened to oversee distribution of federal funds in the state. The panel is chaired by Assemblywoman Debbie Smith of Sparks.

"The bottom line is that taxpayers want to and deserve to know that this money is being spent wisely and that we can account for everything. That is very critical," Smith said.

Douglas County plans to use about $380,000 in stimulus money this year to overlay roads in Jacks Valley and Dresslerville.

Assistant County Manager Steve Mokrohisky said the county also will seek about $190,000 in Department of Energy grants for energy-efficiency projects in the county.

Churchill County has applied for several stimulus grant projects and has been approved for some, mostly water and wastewater system development, said county Comptroller Alan Kalt, but so far the county has not received any federal funds. Churchill County also has let several other projects out to bid.

"As far as actual dollars back to county, we have not received anything," Kalt said.

In Lyon County, where June unemployment reached 15.2 percent, the highest in the state, County Manager Dennis Stark said federal stimulus monies would be a welcome sight. Stark said Lyon County has several shovel-ready road projects and is working with NDOT to get them into the queue.

"We need jobs now," Stark said. "We need financial impacts to occur yesterday. If it is on its way or we are looking to the future, it is certainly dragging it feet so far. I don't think it is having the immediate effect that was anticipated."