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Friday, August 21, 2009 10:54 PM CDT
Area may get $1 million in stimulus
By HERB MEEKER and ROB STROUD, Staff Writers
editorial@jg-tc.com
Coles and surrounding counties might benefit from the latest round of Recovery Act funding for a variety of local projects.
An $11.45 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is designed to benefit projects in Coles, Edgar, Clark and Effingham counties, and other communities throughout Illinois. President Barack Obama signed this federal stimulus package into law in February to spur economic recovery through public works projects.
The full details on the grant allocated through the Illinois Department of Transportation will be worked out in coming weeks, according to public officials contacted Friday.
“We’ve not been told we have the money yet, but we have been given notice we need to provide proof we are shovel ready on this,” said Mattoon Public Works Director Dave Wortman on the proposed Amtrak train station passenger platform improvements in Mattoon.
The platform work would provide a new concrete surface on the trackside loading area for the passengers at the Illinois Central Railroad Depot along the Canadian National railway.
A major restoration of the 91-year-old building is under way through a combination of federal, state and private funding. A new public elevator is also being added to the tri-level structure, located in the center of Mattoon, as part of this restoration.
“By doing this and raising the platform we would be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Wortman said.
Effingham County Board Chairwoman Carolyn Willenburg is happy to hear the news that federal funding will pay for a new building for the Effingham County Dive Rescue Team. Still, she tempered her enthusiasm with the knowledge everything is not final on the funding.
“I’m real happy to hear this. But we want to make sure the money is made available for the new building,” she said Friday.
The dive team now operates out of part of the Shumway Fire Protection District station at Lake Sara. The new building will provide more storage and other benefits for the dive team that assists with emergencies throughout Effingham County.
Estimated federal assistance requests for the Mattoon and Effingham County projects range from $200,000 to $300,000, based on past estimates.
Funding also has apparently been awarded to the Coles County Council on Aging and to Coles County for the Dial-A-Ride garage at the LifeSpan Center, located at the northwest corner of Loxa Road and County Road 1800N.
Jeff Lahr, a planner with the Coles County Regional Planning and Development Commission, estimated the two groups applied for approximately $360,000 in funding to help expand the garage by 6,300 square feet. The garage opened in 2005.
Dial-A-Ride has operated for years by having passengers schedule trips by appointment, and added its first regularly scheduled routes in December to serve the new LifeSpan Center. Dial-A-Ride has also applied for federal economic stimulus funding to buy two new vans.
In addition, funding has apparently been awarded to the new East Central Illinois Mass Transit District for its administration and storage facility in Paris. The district’s administrator was out of the office Friday and unavailable for comment. The district provides shuttle bus service in Clark and Edgar counties.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869. Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 238-6861.
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Mama says wrote on Aug 23, 2009 2:24 AM:
Then in 10 years look like a slum again.
Mattoon needs a guardian protect all the funding and see it isn't overspent on architects, analyzers, what a bunch of overpaid and the hands greased are usually people who have money. "