Congress passes a stimulus bill, president Obama signs it and the next thing you know Boulder City has millions of dollars in our bank account right?   WRONG!  

The work of the politicians is done and it is time for city staff and federal staff members to work together to implement the will of the elected body.  The Public Works Department is pursuing multiple grant opportunities available in recent Federal legislation.  The five most notable are $13.7 million for wastewater improvements, $1 million for roadway reconstruction, $500,000 for the third intake, $200,000 for bus shelters, and $61,000 for an energy efficiency project. 

In 2002 Boulder City entered into an agreement with the US Army Corps of Engineers to fund 75% of $6.5 million of wastewater system improvements.  When I became the Public Works Director in September of 2005, construction costs were at an all time high in southern Nevada.  Therefore, I immediately began working on an amendment to increase the total project cost of the agreement.  I successfully increased the total project cost to $10.9 million.  Thanks to stimulus funding, my recent request to expand the scope of the project and increase total project cost to $13.7 million was approved in May of 2009. 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is new territory for the staff at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).  Therefore, weekly teleconferences have been conducted for the past 3 months in an attempt to clearly layout all the requirements and make sure all the entities are on the same page.   Boulder City entered into a Local Public Agency Agreement with NDOT to fund this project.   The agreement is 46 pages long.   There are numerous additional requirements for this project, including regular reporting throughout construction.  So the paperwork is not done yet.  The initial set of plans, right-of-way documents, and environmental checklist were submitted to NDOT on June 12, 2009.  The goal of the federal legislators is to make the projects as transparent as possible, so in addition to frequent reporting, regular inspection during construction will be performed by both NDOT and FHWA. 

Public Works Staff is working with the US EPA to complete the application package for funding a portion of the third intake.  This application package includes 14 forms and is 48 pages long.   Original submittals were in May and revised submittals have been submitted a few times in June.  The Environmental Assessment completed by the National Park Service had to be re-published to solicit comments again, as US EPA was not a member of the team that completed the original Environmental Assessment.

Public Works has submitted a 22 page grant application to NDOT requesting funding thru the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to fund bus shelters along the Regional Transportation Commission’s public bus system in Boulder City.  If successful in securing this $200,000 for bus shelters, the Public Works Department hope to install aesthetically pleasing structures along Adams Boulevard, Utah Street, Arizona Street, and Nevada Way.  A requirement by the FTA is the inclusion of three informal bids as part of the grant application process.  Usually the Public Works Department advertises for bids only after approval of the funding agreement.  Each Federal agency has different operating procedures, which keeps life interesting for city staff. 

The grant application for the Department of Energy is 27 pages long.  If successful in securing this $61,000 grant for an energy efficiency project the city’s Electrical Department intends to install new, high efficiency streetlights on Adams Boulevard. 

In addition to the effort discussed above, Public Works is supporting the Police Department in their efforts to secure a funding agreement for $600,000 for the Regional Training and Shooting facility.