Tempe has made requests for public works projects funding from the federal stimulus bill through the Maricopa Association of Governments and will soon make a similar request from Gov. Jan Brewer.
All of the projects fall under the categories of “street” or “transit,” and include plans for road improvements, transportation facility maintenance, and vehicle replacements and upgrades.
The requests, which Tempe assistant city manager Jeff Kulaga said are estimated at about $474 million, come in the form of a list that describes the projects, provides the total cost, amount of current federal funding and amount of federal funding Tempe is requesting.
Amber Wakeman, government relations director for the city of Tempe, said the city was being proactive about its attempts to bring more money into its economy.
“The governor apparently has a pot of money that she can use at her discretion,” she said. “In case there are additional funds [that the governor can allocate to Tempe], we have shovel-ready projects we want to make sure the governor knows about.”
Wakeman also said all of the projects on the list would be ready to begin within the required time frames mandated by the new stimulus law. Depending on the project, the time frame is 120 or 180 days.
“As soon as … they are able to disperse the funds we will be spending that money as quickly as possible,” she said.
James Apperson, president and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, said the governor has not made any decisions on how the stimulus will be applied. He also said the exact amount of money the state will receive has not been finalized yet.
“The allocation of stimulus funds is an ongoing federal work in progress, and the numbers do keep changing,” Apperson said.
Mayor Hugh Hallman said because of how recent the new legislation is, city workers are still trying to figure out exactly what it will fund.
“Municipalities have been asked to submit projects that … could lead to immediate job production,” Hallman said.
Not all of the projects in the submitted lists necessarily reflected what will and can be covered under the stimulus law, he said.
Hallman said the city will only begin to get a general understanding of what the money can be applied towards next week.
Wakeman said Tempe is doing everything it can to get people back to work and the economy back in motion.
“If there are any additional funds we can get our hands on, we are going to submit for those funds,” Wakeman said. “We don’t even know if there are going to be any additional funds, but if there are, we want to make sure we are first in line.”
Reach the reporter at benjamin.weitzenkorn@asu.edu.
