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Village seeks federal grant funding, West Street project top priority  Share
Peotone Village Board on Monday gave the West Street reconstruction project top priority among four Administrator George Gray will seek federal grant funding to pay for. Gray told the board of trustees that Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson ''has issued a call for applications for appropriation grants,'' the funding source that has replaced earmarks allocated for each member of Congress. Gray asked the board to prioritize the four projects that meet the five-point criteria Halvorson will use to determine which to submit for congressional review. The board placed the $1.6 million West Street reconstruction at the top of the list, followed by lining large capacity sanitary sewers exhibiting infiltration ($300,000), a generator at the Wastewater Treatment Plant ($250,000) and a warning siren for the east side of Peotone ($17,000). The administrator explained that federal funds are allocated to one of 12 appropriation bills each budget year. The process is lengthy, and governmental bodies are very competitive. ''All federal departments and programs are funded through these bills,'' he said.
''Members of Congress accept applications for discretionary funding. The members then review their applications and submit them to the appropriate congressional subcommittee. Each subcommittee evaluates the applications and selects applications for inclusion in an appropriation bill. Each house of Congress acts on the bills. The final appropriation bills then go to the President for signature. This process will take most of a year, with the results announced in September. Funding will not be available until late winter/early spring of 2011. The applicant must commit to any matching funding being available October 1, 2010.' Last year, the village sought funding for the West Street project and for lining for large capacity sanitary sewers. The generator and the warning siren will be new submissions this year. ''West Street is estimated to cost $1.6 million,'' Gray noted. ''Most transportation funding sources require a 20 percent match, which we would be unable to do. However, I am applying for a slightly different avenue of funding, which does not appear to have a local match. This funding is not normally used for roads, but the project may meet some specific goals of this funding source. ''Staff seeks input regarding the applications for these projects and input on priorities,'' he said. ''While there is no limit to the number of applications from a village, each application must carry a priority number set by the village. This priority ranking will indicate to the congressional staff which projects are most important to us.'' The administrator said later that it is unlikely Peotone would receive funding for all four projects. ''We will be very fortunate if we receive one,'' he said. ''Discretionary grants are, by nature, very competitive. In addition, federal revenues have dropped, meaning available funding has been reduced. Only a small fraction of the submitted projects will receive funding. However, if we do not submit applications, the funding chances are zero.'' Among the criteria Halvorson will use to determine which projects will be submitted for congressional review are; Regional significance (whether the project is important to a substantial portion of the 11th Congressional District). Transformation of the area (whether the project has the potential to have a real impact on the local economy and put the 11th Congressional District at the forefront of the new energy economy). Cost effectiveness (whether the project uses limited funds in an efficient manner in order to produce greater impact on the quality of life or economic development in the community). Jobs creation (whether the project creates or attracts jobs to bolster the district's competitive advantage in the global economy). Eligibility (whether the project complies with eligibility requirements set forth by the appropriations subcommittees, including local and state matching funds, using the funds during Fiscal Year 2011, and other requirements under federal law). --karenhaave@att.net Karen Haave is a reporter for Russell Publications.
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