One Bainbridge project may see some federal stimulus
Published 12:32 pm Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The list of recommended projects for federal stimulus funding in Kitsap County can be found a the bottom of this page.
Bainbridge Island has submitted a list of eight transportation projects it hopes will receive federal stimulus funding in the next year.
Grant coordinating officials, however, say it is likely that only one project, shoulder widening in the Blakely Avenue, is eligible for such funding.
The $150,000 construction project is “shovel-ready” and has a completed National Environmental Policy Act review, which is usually required of federally-funded projects.
The Blakely shoulder widening project is part of the city’s “core 40” program, which has targeted 40 roads for upgrades around the island in the coming years. The first phase of the project, non-motorized improvements near Blakely Elementary School, was completed last year.
The south-end improvement is the cheapest project on the transportation improvement list compiled by the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council. The total amount for eligible projects in the county is close to $16.5 million.
The Bainbridge list is being passed on to the Puget Sound Regional Council, which coordinates federal grant money for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
Although it is not clear how much money will be coming to Kitsap, it is clear that acquiring funding through the stimulus will be highly competitive.
“It’s a traveling amount, so no one knows for sure how much there will be,” said KRCC director Mary McClure. “It’s looking as if there will be $60 million for the highway program spread among the four counties and probably $120 million for the transit program. How it is going to be spread hasn’t been determined by the executive board of PSRC.”
McClure said one way PSRC is looking at distributing the funds is by population. If that were the case, Kitsap County would receive between $2 and $4 million in stimulus money.
If PSRC chooses to divert funds toward improvements on the I-5 corridor, however, Kitsap County could receive significantly less.
Other Bainbridge projects submitted to KRCC for funding included $500,000 for culvert replacement; $862,000 for environmental portions of the Winslow Way reconstruction; $1.85 million for shoulder widening on North Madison; $1.3 million for shoulder widening on Miller Road; $500,000 for a bicycle trail through Meigs Farm; $2.7 million for Wing Point Way improvements; and $3.5 million for street repaving.
Council member Kim Brackett, who sits on the KRCC and PSRC Transportation Policy Advisory Boards, said that although project costs far outweighed the amount of money available through federal stimulus funding, there is a chance that Bainbridge will receive a chunk of funding for Blakely Avenue if PSRC decides to spread the money equally around the region.
“The reality is, there are many more projects than there is funding for,” she said. “That’s something we are thinking about; is it better to fund a lot of little projects – to spread it like peanut butter – or start on significant projects that benefit the entire region?”
