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Subcommittee forwards $13 million in ARRA funds to speed six city paving projects
Summary
The Budget and Finance Subcommittee on April 8 recommended the Board approve acceptance of up to $13,030,000 in federal stimulus funds to backfill Pavement Program projects; DPW said the package covers six shovel-ready resurfacing projects and could create roughly 96 jobs.
The Budget and Finance Subcommittee on April 8 voted to forward to the full Board a resolution authorizing the Department of Public Works to accept and expend up to $13,030,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to implement six paving projects in the city. Simone Jacques, Department of Public Works, told the committee the package includes $13,030,000 in Tier 1 funding and $1,680,000 in contingency Tier 2 funds that may become available as late as September 2010.
"Thank goodness for economic stimulus money, which is backfilling our budget," Simone Jacques said, noting the projects had been part of DPW's FY 2008/2009 paving program and were selected because they were farthest along in design and therefore shovel-ready. Jacques said DPW sent notices to approximately 90 Bay Area contractors, including HRC, CityBuild and Builders Exchange, and estimated the six projects would create approximately 96 jobs in the city.
The department described an accelerated schedule tied to Caltrans authorization: advertise in late April to early May, award contracts by late May to early June, and start construction around August if obligations are received. Ramon Kong was identified as DPW's paving program manager to follow up for district-specific questions. The budget analyst, Mr. Rose, told the committee all contracts would be subject to competitive bidding and recommended approval.
Committee members pressed DPW on how the specific streets were chosen; DPW said it submitted eight candidate projects and the Transportation Authority used prioritization criteria (chiefly project readiness) to whittle the list to those that could meet federal delivery timeframes. Committee members also discussed geographic equity and said DPW would work with supervisors on district project maps as part of ongoing capital planning and a proposed general obligation bond.
The chair opened public comment and received none. The committee forwarded the resolution to the full Board with a recommendation.
Next step: the item will be considered by the full Board at its next meeting; DPW will provide district-level follow-up to supervisors and proceed with procurement contingent on Caltrans authorization.
