Federal stimulus package to fund $436k street project

The first money from the federal stimulus package earmarked for Sonoma may hit the streets – First Street West, to be exact – as early as July.
The 1.1-mile strip between MacArthur and Napa streets will be repaved in a job that should take 45 to 60 days to complete, according to City Engineer Toni Bertolero. The price tag is $436,000. According to an initial projection, she said, the project will create 25 new jobs.
“This was work we were planning to do,” said Wayne Wirick Jr., the city’s Development Services Director. “The design was in the works.”
The fact that the city had a specific plan, complete with environmental reviews and approvals, made it the kind of “shovel ready” project the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) is looking to fund. “It’s getting the money going in the community,” said Wirick.
Federal highway dollars will be funneled through CalTrans, which is responsible for overall review and approval. The city will handle the day-to-day details including putting the project out for bids, a process that will take about three weeks.
After Bertolero’s office picks a company for the job, that decision must be approved by the city council. Construction can then begin immediately.
Wirick is coordinating the city’s efforts to secure more ARRA funding. He said that in addition to the First Street West project, there is a fair likelihood of Sonoma getting funding for safe drinking water projects.
The ARRA, with its goal of dispersing $787 billion, was signed into law on February 17 and the details are very much a work in progress. “It’s a matter of determining which programs the city is eligible for, and then narrowing that down to the projects likely to receive funding,” Wirick said. “This will be going on for the next couple of years. It will take a while to sort out.”