Stimulus money misses the mark?

Communities like Lincoln County often not getting a piece of the pie

A tsunami of federal economic recovery money will soon wash across the nation, but it appears it will mostly flow around Lincoln County and its 16.6 percent unemployment rate, the highest of any county in Montana.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also referred to as the "Jobs Bill," will distribute an unprecedented $787 billion through state governments and nearly 30 federal agencies. Some will indeed trickle into Lincoln County through those avenues.

But city, county and school officials are frustrated with the stimulus program, saying it is slow in unfolding, burdened with paperwork, and difficult to tap into because of stringent oversight standards and 'shovel-ready" requirements.

After 24 years of design and environmental planning, a project aimed at rebuilding a dangerous section of U.S. 2 east of Libby does not qualify. A much-needed, larger town hall and water system improvements in Eureka do not qualify. A new building to replace a 56-year-old Libby elementary school does not qualify.

"Supposedly we're getting some money, but to date I'm not aware of 10 cents that has hit the ground in stimulus funding," said Lincoln County Commissioner Tony Berget, who is astounded that the long-studied reconstruction of the Swamp Creek section of U.S. 2 east of Libby did not qualify for any stimulus funding.

The Montana Department of Transportation designated 69 projects for about $211 million in transportation stimulus funds. Lincoln County got exactly one, a $200,000 chip seal project that will create an estimated six jobs, according to the department's Web site.

Missoula County, by contrast, has a 6.6 percent unemployment rate and eight transportation projects worth $7.8 million. The state estimates the stimulus project will produce more than 200 jobs over the next few years.

"I can tell you I have never been so incensed in all my life," Berget said of the Swamp Creek project's rejection. "I just feel like we're an evil stepchild. We have a 16.6 percent unemployment rate."

The project involves a 6-mile section of U.S. 2 between Libby Creek and the Fisher River that is built on troublesome, unstable soils with steep shoulder embankments. Two phases of work have been identified, one of them requiring the construction of four bridges.

Berget acknowledges that it's a difficult job, but it has been studied since 1986. There was a final design for the project in 1996, but it was derailed because of a lack of money.

Berget said the state has developed more recent designs. "They presented a design to us in Libby in 2006," he said, and at that time, the estimated project cost was about $20 million.

Soon after the Recovery Act was passed in January, Swamp Creek was touted in the Kiplinger Report as one of the three highest priority transportation projects in Montana, with an estimated price tag of $42 million.

Montana Department of Transportation officials have repeatedly referred to it as a high priority.

But Jim Lynch, the department's director, said this week that it did not qualify for stimulus funding because a new design is being developed.

"The requirements of the (Recovery) act really prevent us from using stimulus dollars on that because of the tight time frames," he said, referring to project obligation deadlines. "It's a pretty extensive project and pretty expensive. We're exploring if there aren't other ways to do the project."

Berget said the real issue is that the department is trying to engineer a cheaper way of getting the project done. That should not disqualify the project.

"To me, that's just unacceptable," said Berget, who believes stimulus funding could have helped pay for at least a portion of the work. "How many designs for Swamp Creek have they done? It's the same story, regurgitating the same answers."

The small town of Eureka, located a few miles south of the Canadian border, may be the most economically distressed corner of Lincoln County.

With a population of 1,500 people, the town weathered the closure of the Owens and Hurst Lumber Mill and the loss of nearly 100 jobs in 2005. And just two months ago, Plum Creek Timber Co. closed the Ksanka sawmill just south of Eureka, ending 73 jobs with relatively strong wages and benefits. It was, remarkably, the last sawmill in Lincoln County, once the engine behind Montana's timber industry.

"Logging is all shut down up here now. We've got no mills left," said Eureka Mayor Dave Newburn. "All those jobs are gone."

Newburn thought some of the town's more pressing needs might be met with funding from the Recovery Act. But he's since learned that small towns like Eureka are at a distinct disadvantage in pursuing stimulus funding.

"We just don't have the kind of money to be shovel-ready and to have the engineering done because that's a lot of money right there," Newburn said.

For example, Newburn said Eureka sorely needs a new town hall. The current hall is a small building on Eureka's main thoroughfare. It accommodates the three-officer police force, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks personnel and Lincoln County sheriff's deputies. Highway Patrol troopers use an old jail cell for office space.

The town has $134,000 available for planning and designing a new town hall, but it wasn't enough to expedite that process to meet stimulus funding deadlines.

Similar circumstances apply for a long-desired water-system upgrade, and plans to extend that system to a mobile home park. The town will apparently receive $100,000 for those projects from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, an appropriation made possible because the state received stimulus funding, Newburn said.

But the only direct stimulus funding the town qualified for was $24,000 to help pay for work on one block of a street that badly needs repairs, Newburn said.

"I don't see where it's going to help," Newburn said. "$24,000 is not going to create any jobs up here."

Through a variety of state and federal agencies, stimulus funds will eventually reach Lincoln County. But so far, it is very unclear how and when it will materialize.

The Kootenai National Forest, for example, is one of the county's largest employers, with the national forest accounting for about 75 percent of the county's land mass.

The Forest Service has distributed just over 10 percent of the stimulus funds it will receive. So far, according to the agency's Web site, $377,000 will go to Lincoln County for noxious weeds management, and there are separate packages of $808,000 and $2.4 million for fuels reduction and ecosystem restoration projects. The Forest Service has also allocated $3.6 million for forest roads maintenance work, to be split among Carbon, Lincoln and Gallatin counties.

Kootenai Forest officials, however, currently have no information available about details for stimulus contracting opportunities.

"The forest is ready to go, but the contracts won't be done out of our office," said Kootenai public affairs officer Willie Sykes.

Rose Davis, a public affairs officer at the Region One office in Missoula, said she has been directed to forward all questions regarding Forest Service stimulus projects to the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

Responding to an e-mail inquiry, department spokesman Chris Mather said Forest Service stimulus projects will be available on the Internet site, fedbizops.com.

Mather said the agency has been "working very hard" to distribute $26 million of the $28 million that the agency has received through the Recovery Act. But details about contracting opportunities at the regional or forest levels are thin so far.

The county's schools will receive stimulus funds, but again, the potential for creating jobs appears to be limited.

"We are going to get some stimulus money and it's important to us and it will help keep us afloat," said Kirby Maki, superintendent of Libby schools. The district will get about $250,000 annually for two years, but Maki stressed that amount is still just an estimate.

About half of the stimulus funding designated for education in Montana is being distributed through a formula, but the other half will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to schools that can successfully apply for the money.

And that, Maki said, puts small school districts at a disadvantage compared to larger districts with larger staffs and more resources.

"It's not equitable," he said. "If we could afford to have people sitting around writing those grant proposals we would do it… (Larger districts' have the resources and personnel to make those things happen much easier than us."

Maki is particularly frustrated that the district has already put $381,000 in federal funding toward design and engineering for a new building to replace the Asa Wood Elementary School, which was built in 1953.

"I have blueprints and the works," Maki said. But there are limitations on how stimulus funds designated for education can be spent on "bricks and mortar" projects.

Maki said getting any stimulus money to help with the estimated $12 million cost of a new school is unlikely.

Maki cited another example of accountability constraints attached with stimulus funding. The money can apparently be spent on energy efficiency improvements, but energy audits are required as a prerequisite.

The school has conducted energy audits, but it is unclear whether they would meet stimulus funding requirements. And Maki wonders if audits are necessary, when it is obvious that replacing single-pane windows with double-paned windows in buildings like Asa Wood Elementary would improve energy efficiency.

Maki said the stimulus money that the district does receive will likely go toward curriculum development and technology and cafeteria kitchen upgrades. Those types of expenditures will benefit the district for years, he said.

Commissioner Berget noted that Lincoln County will receive about $270,000 in stimulus funds that were appropriated by the state Legislature for modest infrastructure projects, including $179,000 for water and sewer system improvements in Libby.

Still, Berget believes that stimulus funding will come up short in providing significant employment opportunities. And for Lincoln County, with its staggering economy, that is bad news.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com