Kosciusko County Administrator Ron Robinson is on a sort of treasure hunt, hunting down federal stimulus dollars for local government.The $787 billion economic stimulus plan passed by Congress in February included money designated for local projects. Robinson said since the bill passed, he has spent time looking for stimulus money local projects could qualify for.
"Right now, we're just trying to search out and see what's there," Robinson said.
Robinson said he checks through his e-mail and other communications at the county courthouse each week for information about programs linked to the stimulus bill. He said he looks for grants that could be helpful for Kosciusko County or for any of the towns or government agencies in the county.
But, he's not looking alone. Kosciusko County is a member of the Michiana Area Council of Governments, based in South Bend. MACOG helps local governments hunt down grant funding and is helping the county pursue some of the available federal stimulus dollars.
Membership in MACOG costs the county about $26,000 each year. Kosciusko County Commissioner Ron Truex said the help the county receives from MACOG is worth the membership fee.
"We joined MACOG because they have the expertise to help us find and get those funds," Truex said.
Tuesday, Rita Baker, general manager of City Bus, a local transit system operated by Kosciusko Area Bus Service, told the county commissioners her program received $204,000 from the American Recovery and Reconstruction Act, which is part of the stimulus legislation.
Baker said her organization will use the money to replace two of the nine buses in their fleet and to buy a car to be used in the county between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Baker said the Indiana Department of Transportation notified her organization of the available money. She said INDOT got $20 million in stimulus money for small transit systems in Indiana.
The Kosciusko County Highway Department is working on getting some stimulus money for a local road project. Highway Superintendent Dennis Pletcher said his department is trying to get money to repave Old 30. He said the project will cost $3 million.
"The stimulus money would not pay for the whole project," said Pletcher. "It would come close though."
Pletcher said he has searched for other projects that could be funded by the federal money, but he said the money comes with regulations that can't be met by projects for most roads in Kosciusko County.
"The stimulus money is really geared for INDOT-style projects," Pletcher said. "Projects must follow federal highway guidelines."
Pletcher said those guidelines are made for road systems larger than the rural roads that cover most of Kosciusko County. Old 30, Pletcher said, was a federal highway, so it most likely meets the requirements for the grant. Pletcher said using the federal money to repave Old 30 will help the county save money for use on other local projects.
