St. Louis County submits stimulus proposals
Wednesday May,09, 2007--Developers had hoped that someday Highway 141 would turn into an outer-belt parkway that links the suburbs from Arnold to Bridgeton.
(Dawn Majors/File photo/P-D)
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/13/2009
CLAYTON -- St. Louis County has assembled an economic stimulus proposal that would cost nearly $1.8 billion. The county estimates the 95 projects on its list would generate 57,360 jobs.
“What we do not want are sidewalks to nowhere,” Garry Earls, chief operating officer, said today. “Each project has to create current jobs or something else and the projects must generate jobs,” he said. “We are not after a short-term investment, but a long-term investment,” he said.
The projects generally would be complete in two years.
The proposal also is a work in progress. “We would revise the list once a month – at the end of January and the end of February. We expect by March or April some sort of federal plan will be in place,” Earls said. The county would add projects that meet its standards, he said.
The county electronically transmitted its proposal to the transition team of President-elect Barak Obama that is expected to prepare a national economic stimulus program. The plan also went to members of Missouri's congressional delegation.
The proposal is unusual because it includes projects from Metro and some municipalities and school and fire protection districts.
Earls said County Executive Charlie Dooley directed his staff to include municipalities, school districts and other jurisdictions. “The county is a coalition of 92 municipalities,” Earls said, referring to the county's 91 municipalities and the county itself.
The county wants its proposal distributed far and wide. “If there is a Santa Claus somewhere, he'll get it,” Earls said.
The county is seeking $200 million to convert into a semi-expressway Highway 141 from north of Highway 40 to the Maryland Heights Expressway north of Olive Boulevard. State highway officials have made that project one of its highest priorities. The county says the project would generate 560 construction jobs and 8,500 permanent ones.
The list also includes $50 million to avert service cutbacks Metro plans in March. Also in the document is Metro's request for $25 million to repair and repaint the Eads Bridge.
The county is seeking $80 million for an overpass taking Hanley Road across Manchester Road. Also included on the list is nearly $7 million for Fenton's project to replace the Gravois Road Bridge across the Meramec River.
One item calls for a new MetroLink station at Springdale Avenue in Berkeley for the NorthPark redevelopment project.
The list includes support for renovating the Crestwood Court (formerly Crestwood Plaza), Northwest Plaza and South County shopping malls. The document seeks money for parking structures and street improvements related to the Centene and Brown Shoe development projects in Clayton.
The list also includes projects that were in a $120 million county bond issue and a 1.85-cent use tax that voters rejected in November. They include a countywide communications system that would allow all police, fire and emergency service workers to talk to each other by radio, a new Family Courts building, new health and crime laboratories and furnishing of a new countywide animal shelter in Olivette.
The county also wants to build a new health center in Black Jack.
Aside from construction, the proposal includes six housing proposals, additional child care facilities in Lemay and Wellston. Stimulus money would develop several parks and trails.
The Bayless, Clayton,and Webster Groves school districts included proposals. The Webster Groves district seeks $80 million for reconstruction of Webster Groves High School, including an addition.
Clayton seeks $16.5 million for a new police station and the Kinloch Fire Protection District and Brentwood each want $4.2 million for a new fire station.
The proposal did not include the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District's proposal for about $163 million in economic stimulus funds. Earls said the county supports the agency's request.
