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County targets funds from economic stimulus package

MEDIA RELEASE

The County of Hawaii has submitted a list of road, sewer, transit and other projects to the federal government for funding under President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed economic stimulus package.

The projects, worth an estimated $487.1 million, would create nearly 3,000 construction jobs on the Big Island.

The list of projects is a result of close collaboration with U.S. Sen Daniel Inouye, Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, Mayor Billy Kenoi said.

“We’re working very closely with our Congressional delegation in seeing that several of these projects get funded,” Kenoi said. “We won’t get everything we want, but we will continue to vigorously advocate for funding of jobs and projects that will improve the quality of life for all residents of the Big Island.”

The mayor met with his cabinet and county staff Monday to determine which pending projects would be most likely to be funded under the criteria established for the funding requests. Infrastructure projects that are ready or near ready to go, and the creation of jobs, were among the highest priorities in the selection of projects for the list.

The county’s list of proposed projects to be funded with federal monies includes new fire stations in Makalei ($9 million) and Captain Cook ($18 million), and a police station in Puna ($4.6 million).

Alii Parkway would get $15 million to construct a 4.5 mile long, two-lane highway extending Queen Kaahumanu Highway, just south of Kona Hillcrest subdivision, to Alii Drive near the Keauhou Shopping Center. And $17 million is being requested for the Laaloa Avenue extension in Kona.

Ten million dollars is being requested to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion by
widening Mamalahoa Highway at the Kamamalu intersection.

Also on the list is $9 million to replace the Lindsey Road Bridge in Waimea.

Also being requested is $15 million for a new Puna gymnasium and ball fields, $2 million for planning an alternate access road in Puna, and $10 million for a new 20-acre park in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision.

Also requested is $6 million for Hawaiian Ocean View Estates to get a new community center and hurricane shelter.

Another request is for $7.5 million to repair, renovate and upgrade existing County swimming pools around the island.

New bus stops and shelters would be built island-wide with a $1.2 million request.

The single largest single-project amount, $89 million, would upgrade the land-mobile radio system used by County police and other public safety agencies. The County is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission to replace its current VHF radio system by 2012.

Other major items on the list include $26.4 million for the elimination of the County’s large capacity cesspools in Naalehu and Pahala. The projects are mandated by the federal Environmental Protection Administration.

The request from Kenoi comes as the U.S. Conference of Mayors announced this week it has identified nearly 11,400 public works projects in 427 cities that are “ready to go” and could stimulate the national economy.

President-elect Obama has said public works spending would be a cornerstone of his economic development plan by creating millions of jobs nationwide with the largest investment in the national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s.

The conference is urging the U.S. Congress to fund the projects immediately, and estimates the effort would create more than 800,000 jobs across the country in 2009 and 2010.

The Hawaii County projects and those supported by the Conference of Mayors include requests to fund improvements in infrastructure; energy and green jobs projects; transit equipment and infrastructure; public housing modernization; water and wastewater infrastructure; and improvements in city streets and road infrastructure.

The conference predicts that federal investments in these areas will “improve the infrastructure that the private sector needs to succeed, help the small businesses of Main Street America, and produce lasting economic and environmental benefits for the nation.”

President-elect Obama has announced a goal of creating 2.5 million jobs by 2011, and described a two-year initiative to repair and upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure.

Click here for a complete list of the projects in PDF format

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