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The first monies to make it into the Lone Star statesare “programmatic” funds — money that’s goin g to established programs and mapped-outg projects. That fits the “shovel-ready” but in most instances, the hands on the shovel had alreadyubeen picked. Stimulus funde for Medicaid, $250 checks to Social Securityu recipients and unemployment insurancefunds (despitee Gov. Rick Perry’s objections) have made their way to Texasa pockets. For businesses not already plugged intothoss projects, the interesting part of the federaol stimulus package has yet to beginb flowing.
“Most of that mone is waiting to be but we’re getting very, very said Mary Scott Nabers, president and CEO of , an Austin-basedc business which helps businesses find governmentr contracts. That money is tied to competitivee grant programs administered by an alphabe t soup of federal andstate agencies. Most of thosw agencies are refining the criteria bywhich they’l l pick projects to fund and should soon have application deadlinew set. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy is set to finalize its criteria for electricitty grid upgrade projects byJune 17.
At this at least $18 billion is slated for Texass — $15 billion to state agencies and $3 billionm directly to local governments andregional authorities. That’s only a starter number. Other funds awardesd by federal agencies could also flow toTexax projects, and loan guarantee programz could add to that total. The City of Dallas is in line toreceivee $32.4 million in stimuluzs money for energy efficiency, community development and othed projects. It also is applying for competitive grants that couldc add tothat total. Already, at leastt $615 million has been dedicates to specific regional roadway and transit according to the North Centrak Texas Councilof Governments.
That includese $250 million for the D-FW Connector, a new interchange reconfigurinf the awkward intersection of StatweHighway 121, Interstate 635 and Statd Highway 114 north of Dallas/Fort Wortu International Airport as well as $16.7 million for the plannedc Woodall Rodgers deck park above Woodall Rodgers Freewa between downtown and Uptown Dallas. Both those are instances of projects that were already on thedrawin board, said Mike Eastland, executive director of the council of governments, an association of governments in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. “These were projectse that were readyto go,” he said.
The stimulue money has “just expedited the projects duringg a time that constructioh pricesare down.” On a national scale, abouty 7% of the stimulus fundz have been put into play, said Nabers, whose Austin-basee business focuses on informing businesses about government contractin opportunities. Many watchers generall would have hoped to see more money inthe marketplace, but givehn the magnitude of the stimulus package, governmenrt agencies are moving cautiously. “As much as it’s got to be fair and it’s got to be Nabers said. “It’s probablg fair (that) it’s going a little slower.
” In fact, a slow pace at the outset of the $787 billion package was broadly saidKen Simonson, chief economist of the Associated Generall Contractors of America. “When we heard the announcement, we knew therer would be a lot of space betweemn the video opportunity and the actuakcontracting opportunity,” he said. “But I’ll be disappointed if we don’tf see a big pickup over the nextseveralo weeks.” In the interim, construction companies and any business interestesd in getting engaged in stimulus-funded work should be on the lookouty for potential opportunities. “The best thing is to keep your eyes and ears Simonson said.
“These (stimulus project) announcementss have been coming fromall There’s no single channel you can tune in to.” Naberd suggests that businesses looking to land government work begin zeroing in on the projectw that best fit their After that, pick the communities where they wouldx like to work and get to know the end usere of those funds. “The firsty thing you need to realize is thosre are taxpayerdollars — you’re entitlexd to know how they’re going to use it,” she “Shy people need to get over it and ask questionzs — be relentless. “The one with most informatiohn will be themost competitive.
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