Stimulus Dollars for New Castle
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 2009
signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17th
TRANSPORTATION (updated 7/28/09)
New Castle is getting $405,440 of the $8.4 billion set aside for transit capital improvements. The law provides program and grant application requirements for these funds, to be made available through Federal Transit Administration (FTA) assistance programs. The process for receiving these funds has begun and a pre-application has been submitted to the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) for project approval.
In keeping with President Obama's desire of transparency throughout the project, New Castle will post on the website the progress made throughout the grant process.
INDOT has broken the project into two tiers.
Tier I for $188,860 will include: 2 BOTC transit vehicles, a sedan, two computers & software, laptop & software, security equipment for building, on-board security cameras, shop equipment (wheel balancer, refrigerant reclaimer & filter system), color laser printer/fax/scanner combo, and an upgrade on the current maintenance management software.
Tier II for $216,580 will include: parking lot & sidewalk repair, attic enclosure, heaters for maintenance garage, heating and air conditioning unit for offices, back-up generator system, windows for office, lighting fixtures for maintenance garage, exhaust fan for maintenance garage, time clock, two bus shelters, and a drinking fountain.
The Grant application has been approved and we are awaiting signed documents from INDOT before we can proceed. Upon received of the executed contracts, the Transit Manager will prioritize the Tier I project list and complete procurement requirements for the items included in the project.
Tier II projects are considered obligated and the timetable for starting this Tier has not been released at this time. INDOT has secured technical assistance to ensure these more technical projects are completed per Federal regulations.
POLICE
The New Castle Police Department is working to obtain stimulus dollars from various sources. On the list of things hoped for by the New Castle Police Department are laptops, patrol cars and additional officers.
The White House recently released a press statement stating that state and local law enforcement will receive $4 billion from the Recovery Act, and $2 billion of it will be distributed through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program, a program used in Henry County to help fund the Henry County Drug Task Force.
Thus far, New Castle is slated to receive $11,338 which must be shared with the Henry County Sheriff's Department.
