The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (otherwise known as "the bailout," "the stimulus plan" or "Porkulus," depending on whom you ask) is very clear in its requirements regarding the funding of road and bridge projects. The Missouri Department of Transportation will receive $577 million of this stimulus cashola to distribute to projects, if: (1) the projects can get under way in 90 days or less, (2) they will take no more than three years to complete, (3) they create jobs and (4) they are located in economically distressed areas.
The Public Works and Economic Development Act defines an economically distressed area as one where the per capita income is 80 percent or less of the national average or the unemployment rate is at least 1 percent greater than the national average. Only 14 of Missouri's 110 counties don't qualify as economically distressed. Had MoDOT simply flung million-dollar darts in the direction of a Missouri-shaped dart board, odds are its plans for the stimulus money would have ended up in the right places. Mostly. Right?
Why, then, has MoDOT seen fit to dole out $199 million of its allocation -- 39 percent -- to places that aren't eligible for stimulus money because they aren't economically depressed? And if one of the stated goals of the stimulus plan is to create jobs, why has MoDOT allocated this money the same way it allocates its usual funds -- 60 percent to rural areas, 40 percent to urban -- when 50 percent of Missouri's population lives in Kansas City and St. Louis?
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay was hotter than fresh asphalt about his county's original $58 million dollar allocation and complained to anyone who would listen, including CNN. As a result, a few more projects have been approved, raising St Louis' allocation to $67 million. Meanwhile, Kansas City is expecting only $27,304,447 to devote to projects. Has Mayor Mark Funkhouser raised any stink with MoDOT? Or contacted it at all?
"Not to my knowledge," says Laura Holloway, who works in MoDOT's community relations department. She defends MoDOT's Economic Recovery Package Projects, explaining that the rule about funding projects in economically distressed areas is "just one of a long list of regulations and requirements" that MoDOT had to consider.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver says he's fighting for more 5th District money. "When the initial list was released, Missouri's 5th District was slated to received $44 million in stimulus dollars for two major projects," he says. "Since I started complaining we are up to $69 million and five major projects. It is progress, but I think we should still be getting more and I am making that case."
This afternoon, the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission is expected to sign off on MoDOT's plan. Then, Holloway says, MoDOT will start accepting bids for the work.
Republican 9th District Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer
voted against the stimulus bill, but his district's not-distressed
Boone County is shown to receive $24,813,000 worth of road projects,
according to the draft.
Congressman Sam Graves, a Republican whose 6th District contains three counties considered too affluent for the "distressed" qualification, was "disgusted" by President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill. No matter: Andrew County, a not-distressed county in the 6th, is still receiving $365,000 in road work, according to the draft plan.
Cleaver says if every state allocated its stimulus funds as MoDOT has, the intent of Obama's entire stimulus plan could be at risk. "For all the games and pontificating on this issue on both
sides of the aisle, we all need the stimulus to work or we'll be
staring at 10-plus-percent unemployment," Cleaver tells The Pitch in an e-mail. "That is my
main concern. Yes, I want MoDOT to follow the law and be fair and
equitable, but more than that, the money should be spent where it is
needed most because I want it to actually stimulate the economy as it
is designed."
Showing 1-2 of 2
I live in an upper class municipality of St. Louis County. We are receiving about 30 million for a brand new highway that we don't even want. We do not even come close to qualifying for ARRA. We're all employed or we don't need to work. We have areas around our county who truly need the money. When their mayors spoke up about it, they received a million here or there and haven't been heard from since. One depressed area is going to get a new sidewalk so they can walk to a bus stop - oh wait, there is no bus stop anymore because they can't afford to run the metro bus anymore.
The area where they are trying to build a highway and develop is one where no one has been able to build on before in history because it is a flood plain. They are telling the farmers there that they had better sell or they will be taken by eminent domain. The county is also condemning forest to take it by eminent domain. St. Louis has increasing flooding because we are deserting our urban areas and trying to re-engineer flood plains, thus diverting the saturation flow of all the watershed near our creeks and rivers downstream into residents' yards. But that's OUR problem, not theirs. They say they will relieve traffic on the other highways, but they built 370 and nothing improved. Their development in that area flatlined. We have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a highway so no one has to wait 30 seconds in traffic anymore. Utopia! Going from 3,000 cars per day to 250,000 cars per day that a traffic engineering study of the county's says will wind us up in the same traffic mess in 20 years will also improve air quality in our flood plains and watersheds. That sounds logical. We paid for that waste and will pay for this waste, too. The sewer district can't keep up with the rate of development so people now get sewage backing into their homes. St. Louis county asked for a tax increase because they said they couldn't fix any of the failing bridges in the county. ARRA money won't go for that, though. So they're pooling all their money toward a highway that a casino fan in the county can get to his casino better. Oh, now that's reasonable. I am ashamed of St. Louis County and so are many others who live here. What can we do about it? There is so much more but so little time. Thanks for listening.
Springfield(MO) MoDOT held its proposed transportation meeting Tuesday night, March 10, 2009. Local activist asked why the Rail Passenger Service was not included at any funding level? Steven Reed pointed out that just two years ago the highway department put out a press release supporting it. Note that has been removed from the State MoDOT site.
Reed says that over ten years thousands of people have spoke out from Springfield to Branson to St. Louis and even The mayor of Branson, Raeanne Presley recently said she has always supported the Rail Passenger Service. "I say to people ac cross the State Rise up (St. Louis, Rolla, Lebanon, Springfield, Branson), and tell the people who always run the show that we want passenger rail service" Reed said. The people have no say and MODOT does not have any elected position like maybe the state director and each district head. Steven Reed also asked why Springfield, St. Louis, and Kansas City were on their maps as being non economically distressed area's which meant they received less funding from the stimulus money. It makes you wonder if spending the money now on rural roads and then five or ten years going for tax increases in cities to pave more roads is the plan?Also asked if mainly the jobs will go to the union workers and they agreed since they are all prevailing wage road projects. MoDOT said wages are high and unemployment low and that is why Springfield in NOT considered a economically distressed area and that all jobs created would be union and pre-veiling wage. Emily Rittman from KSPR 33 asked if anyone from the public would be able to get any of the jobs and Reed pointed out that the jobs would mainly go to current union workers that already do road work and the Kirk Juranas, Missouri Department of Transportation district engineer for District 8, said Tuesday evening at a public meeting that was correct. He also said that one of the contacts was let to a Chicago firm and Reed asked if Missouri workers were required to be hired and Mr. Juranas said in that case workers were coming from Chicago.Where�s the beef? The national census which will cost more than 5 billion dollars and one of the main purposes is to make sure people get their fair share of money distributed by the federal government. The State of Missouri has a population of 5,878,415 and Springfield has 154,777 people living here as of 2007. The MoDOT says they are getting 880 Million to spend and so that means the Springfield area should get around 26 and one half million. 26, 500,000 minus 7, 344,697 MoDOT says Springfield is getting leaves 19,055, 303 on the table or given to another part of the state. That 19 Million is a lot of money and people need to speak up and out---Call Senator McCaskill and ask her and Kit Bond how we can get our 19 Million?!
like
dislike
