February 26, 2009 Issue
Our Piece of the Pie
A Look At Local Economic Stimulus Package Wish Lists
The $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the economic stimulus package, is a federal effort to create jobs, jumpstart growth and transform the economy to compete in the 21st century. Several High Country municipalities have applied with various state agencies for economic stimulus funds for local projects.
Watauga County
Rocky Nelson, Watauga County manager, said that stimulus funds will be distributed through existing state agencies. “The state is in the process of setting up an office of oversight that will monitor stimulus fund activity, but we haven’t heard anything more yet,” said Nelson. “All of this is still up in the air.”
The county submitted a letter to the N.C. Department of Transportation requesting funding for two road projects.
--King Street Widening Project. The project calls for the widening of Highway 421/King Street from Hardin Street to the N.C. 194 intersection in Boone. About 25 percent of the right-of-way acquisitions for the widening project had been purchased by December 2008, but budget cuts forced NCDOT to stop work on the project, Nelson said. With the new Watauga High School scheduled to open off East King Street in 2010, Watauga County “asked NCDOT to make that project a top priority with stimulus funding,” said Nelson. According to Frank J. Gioscio, NCDOT resident engineer, the total cost of right-of-way acquisitions for the project is approximately $23 to $24 million, and the total construction cost of the project is approximately $13 to $14 million. Those figures, said Gioscio, do not include design and environmental studies costs.
On Tuesday, Gov. Bev Perdue’s office announced the first round of road and bridge projects to be funded through the stimulus, and the King Street Widening Project was among them.
--Funding for improvements to East King Street at the entrance to the new Watauga High School. Watauga County requests the creation of a new intersection on Highway 421 by the Watauga Industrial Park to improve traffic flow and promote safety for the new high school. NCDOT’s estimated cost for constructing the new intersection is approximately $2 million.
Town of Boone
Boone Town Manager Greg Young said the Town of Boone has submitted emails and letters of intent to apply for stimulus funding for several town projects. The town council approved the list of requests at its annual retreat on February 20. Young said it is not clear whether the stimulus funding will come in the form of grants or loans.
“The biggest one is all our water needs,” Young said.
--Expanding Water Treatment Plant capacity. The town needs to upgrade the existing water treatment plant to treat an additional 1.5 million gallons per day. The projected cost is $3.5 million.
--New River South Fork Water Intake Facility. In November 2008, Boone citizens approved a $25 million bond referendum for a new water intake facility on the South Fork of the New River. The town maintains that the new water intake, to be located in the Brownwood area near Todd, is necessary to provide for the town’s projected water needs. The project cost is currently estimated at $21 million. If the town were able to secure stimulus funding for the project in the form of a grant, then the town wouldn’t have to issue as many bonds, Young said.
--Various water/sewer improvements. The town needs to make various improvements to its water and sewer infrastructure, including dredging of silt behind the existing water intake on Winkler’s Creek, Orchard Street sewer improvements, replacing water main and sewer lines, upgrading the wastewater treatment plant solids handling facility, and other improvements. The costs of these various projects range from $150,000 to $2 million.
--Other. Other items the Town of Boone listed for stimulus consideration include the $4.5 million Howard Street streetscape project, $1 million for Highway 421 street improvements, the $1 million post office remodel and $1 million for Horn in the West upgrades.
Town of Blowing Rock
The Blowing Rock Town Council approved a list of projects for economic stimulus consideration on February 10.
--Water Interconnection with Boone. About $1.8 million of the $4 million cost to interconnect Boone and Blowing Rock’s water systems has been secured through grants. Blowing Rock has been approved for a low-interest loan to fund the remaining $2.2 million but put the project on the N.C. Division of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) stimulus request list in hopes of obtaining an additional grant or zero-interest loan.
--Water and wastewater plant improvements. The town requested $600,000 through DENR for a water treatment plant sedimentation basin and piping and $550,000 for various improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.
--Downtown Streetscape Plan. The town requested $850,000 through NCDOT to fund several phases of the Downtown Streetscape Plan. The plan for Main Street includes improvements such as sidewalk repair, installation of crosswalks, improved signage and increased landscaping.
--Morris Street and Chestnut Street sidewalks. The town asked for $200,000 through NCDOT for sidewalks on Morris and Chestnut streets.
Local Stimulus Wish Lists
Local municipalities are seeking stimulus cash for these projects.
Watauga County
• King Street widening project—$37 million ROW, construction costs
• East King Street improvements at new high school entrance—$2 million
Town of Boone
• Water Treatment Plant expansion—$3.5 million
• New River South Fork water intake facility—$21 million
• Various water/sewer improvements
Town of Blowing Rock
• Downtown Streetscape Plan—$850,000
• Morris and Chestnut street sidewalks—$200,000
• Water Interconnection with Boone—$2.2 million
• Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant improvements—$1.15 million
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