Chester and Randolph County receives stimulus money

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[While attending an IDOT meeting in Springfield on Thursday, February 26, Chester Mayor Marty Bert was notified that the City of Chester was the recipient of $253,416. As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 the city of Chester will receive the stimulus money to be used on Federal Aid routes. Federal Aid Urban (FAU) routes are roads that can be utilized as alternate routes in the event of a State Route closure or problem with those routes; state routes in our area are State Route 150 and Route 3. Approximately$281 million of Illinois economic stimulus funds for transportation improvements are to be allocated to local agencies. Nearly $203 million of this amount is to be sub-allocated to areas with populations over 200,000. Chicago was the city receiving the most money with an amount of $175,253,358. Five other large cities with populations of over 200,000 included: Round Lake Beach, Rockford, Rock Island/Quad Cities, Peoria and East St. Louis/Metro-East. Of the remaining $78 million, $45 million will be sub-allocated to urban areas with populations of 5,000 to 200,000 , Chester included. The last $33 million will be sub-allocated to the ninety-six downstate Illinois counties based on non-urban population, non-urban area (square miles), and non-urban centerline mileage. Townships and municipalities with populations less than 5,000 can coordinate with the counties for use of these monies. Randolph County is scheduled to receive $405,449.Other counties in surrounding areas that will benefit from the stimulus money are as follows: Jackson - $382,828; Monroe - $179,798 and Perry - $249,928.

All economic stimulus funds received will be provided at a 100% funding ratio; no local matching funds will be required, however there are certain stipulations that must be met in order to acquire the money. The city of Chester must prioritize a list of projects to fit within its economic stimulus allotment and provide that listing to the appropriate IDOT District Bureau of local roads by March 25, 2009. If the projects are approved, the local agencies will be notified to proceed with said project. Once the city's representatives have been notified they will have until Dec. 4, 2009 to have their master plan turned in. After the final plan has been accepted, according to the letting schedule, the city will be notified by March 15, 2010 and at the time the city will seek bids for the chosen projects. Construction companies putting in their bids must be IDOT certified and be accepted by the state of Illinois in order to win the bid. The projects must then be started 90 days from March 15, 2010. One of the major stipulations is that the funds be sub-allocated to the local agencies and must be federally obligated with one year of the apportionment by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), this deadline will be March 15, 2010, or these funds will be redistributed to other states that can use the funds.

"Once our plan has been accepted, the process will move quickly due to state deadlines. We need to accomplish this in a timely manner or the state will give the money to another town," said Mayor Bert. "We are glad that we have received this stimulus package, unfortunately it does come with guidelines and stipulations, such as where it can be spent. It is designated for FAU routes only."

"Our Streets and Alley Committee, Aldermen Mike Blechle, Clint Cowan and Carolyn Schwent, will assist with recommendations for use of the money and then the council will make the final decision," stated Mayor Marty Bert."

A special meeting was held on Wednesday, March 5. The purpose of the meeting was to determine which routes are qualified as FAU routes and which projects would be good for the city. The city engineer also provided information on costs of said projects. The meeting was open to the public.

FAU streets that qualify for the projects include: Stacy St., the lower half of Buena Vista Hill, George St., Swanwick St., Allendale St., Old Plank Rd., Three Springs Rd. and Van Zant St.

"Time will tell if unemployed workers will benefit from this stimulus package." stated Mayor Bert.