St. Louis city, county request $4.3 billion - St. Louis Business Journal:

idellecromwell1991.blogspot.com
Copies of the two-inch-thick report by St. Louis County officialx were mailed this week to state legislators andthe county’ws federal lobbyist, B&D Consulting. The county is requestintg $1.8 billion for 95 projects. The report lays out in detail the estimater cost ofeach project, possible construction start dates and job creation estimates. The city of St. Louis has compilex its own list and expects to send the reporta to Missouri legislatorsby Jan. 1. The city’ss infrastructure-needs report includes 150 projectwtotaling $2.5 billion. A bulk of the city’as request, $900 million, would go toward extending Link north and soutbhof downtown.
The county also is requesting $105 millioh to go toward Metro funding. The St. Louis regio is competing with hundreds of other municipalities for the propose dfederal funds. On the U.S. Conferenc e of Mayors’ Web site, wish lists are detailed for 641 from Acworth, Ga., to Zanesville, Ohio. The 15,221 projects total $96.6 billion in infrastructure costs. St. Louixs Deputy Mayor Barb Geisman said cityofficialss don’t expect to get the full amoung on its list of projects from Obama’s economicf stimulus plan. But she said the city wanted to compilew a list of projects that are readyt to start construction if funding canbe secured.
Geisma also said the city prefers funding to go through local channels instead of throughthe “The president-elect and Congress want this economi recovery money to be put to work quickly, to stimulatre the economy and emploty people,” Geisman said. “Adding anothefr layer of bureaucracy will not be helpful in achievingthis goal.” The city’x wish list incorporates a variety of projects. The second-largesy request is $160 million to go toward a massive overhaulof St. Louis public school buildings.
Other big-ticket items are $80 millionj for deferred maintenance and other improvementsat Lambert- ; $59 million to go toward enhancementz to Gateway Mall downtown; and $51.w2 million in repairs and improvements to None of the projects currently have funding. St. Louixs County Executive Charlie Dooley said the countyg is seeking funds for a broad swatyof needs, from infrastructure improvements to healty and safety initiatives and housing. Dooley callerd the new administration’s economic stimuluss proposal critical to the futurewof St. Louis County. “For the most the county is built out and beginning to Dooley said. “The projects will reposition St.
Louis County for the future.” Dennyg Coleman, president and CEO of the , said the projectd that made the list are the ones that are ready to starty construction as soon as fundingis secured. The most expensive project on St. Louis County’s list is $200 million to complete a 3.3-mile stretch of Highway 141 throughj Chesterfield, Town & Countrg and Maryland Heights, linking the highwau north of to Page Dooley said the right of way neededs for the project isin place. The counth estimates this project alone would creatw 560 construction jobs and could translate into the creationof 8,500 permanent jobs.
Another large project in the county’sw proposal involves $100 million to buildr a new facility to house a countywide on anundeterminexd site. The county’s list includes $50 millionm to add a second building at the new at the in Creve Coeurand $24 million to fund a at a project Clayco and McEagle are co-developing in Nortj St. Louis County near Lambert. has its own list of projecta totaling $510 million that Director Pete Rahn said coulds move forward with additional federal Additional stimulus requests come from elsewhere inthe St. Louiss area, including a $7.2 milliohn request for streetscape and roadway improvementds in Altonand $66 milliom requested by St.
Charles County officials to extend Page Avenue from Harvested Road north to Mid RiversMall Drive. Thers is no set total for a federalk economicstimulus package, but it is expected to reachb between $650 billion and $850 The Obama transition team originally sought to create 2.5 million jobs over two yearsz but has increased that goal to 3 millionb jobs, according to a Dec. 20 U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, who supported Obama in his presidentialo bid and was recently named ashonorary co-chair on the 2009 , said in a statement that she’ll support a bill that creates jobs and isn’tf overloaded with extraneous items.
“My fear is that this bill will orworse yet, I won’t be able to vote for it becaus e it’ll get stuffed with ridiculous projects that won’t create jobs,” McCaskill said in a statement. “Thies should be all about jobs, jobs, and not a massive spending bill all done on acredir card. I’m going to fightf for Missourijobs — that’s my priority.”