Published: March 12, 2009 11:36 pm      

City to see additional stimulus funds

Corbitt confident Ashland will receive more in coming weeks

ASHLAND — The City of Ashland was notified this week it will be receiving $300,000 in additional funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for two projects.

The announcement is the second of its kind this month and brings the total amount received to date from the stimulus package to just more than $500,000. City Manager Steve Corbitt is confident the city will receive more funds in the coming weeks.

Corbitt said the city has submitted requests to federal and state legislatures for projects totaling approximately $30 million.

Requests include:

—$16 million for the second phase of the Ashland Veterans Riverfront Park

—$8 million for four combined sewer overflow projects

—$500,000 to furnish the new Ashland Police Station

—$500,000 for sewer upgrades on 39th Street

—$900,000 to renovate Judd Plaza and $1.5 million to complete Streetscape projects on the 1600, 1700 and 1200 block of Winchester Avenue.

Corbitt said the city was notified this week it will receive $180,300 of stimulus money for upgrades to the Ashland Bus System. The funds have a 180-day threshold for spending.

According to officials, $13,500 will be spent for a diagnostic bus engine and transmission computer equipment scanner for the central garage, $2,100 for portable two-way radio upgrades. Eight automated external defibrillators will also be purchased for the buses and the Transportation Center.

Upgrades to the city’s paratransit computer software are planned at a cost of $68,400.

Ashland’s Mass Transit Manager Mike Rogers said the paratransit upgrades will allow the system to use maps and geographic information systems to determine the most efficient route for trips, optimize daily schedules in order to increase vehicle efficiency and capacity, estimate vehicle mileage and travel times, and provide driving directions. An additional $83,500 will be used to install GPS technology along with mobile data computers and software in buses to allow them to communicate with paratransit vehicles.

Rogers said the upgrades were all planned for the future but can be accelerated now.

He said bus ridership has consistently grown throughout the last several years and is expected to spike through warmer weather this spring and summer.

Officials have also received preliminary confirmation from Rep. Geoff Davis’ office that Ashland Main Street will get $150,000 for facade repairs to the C.H. Parsons, which houses the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center on the first two floors. The building’s upper floors will also one day house Ashland Community and Technical College’s nursing program.

City officials seemed surprised by the recipient of those funds on Thursday.

Corbitt said he believed Ashland Main Street had applied for money for the facade repairs in 2007 but Economic Development Director Chris Pullem said he believed ACTC had applied for the funds in cooperation with the city. Either way, officials said they were glad to have them.

Planned repairs to the Parsons building include: repointing brick, cleaning the marble and granite veneer and the replacement door hardware and replacing vent window openings with lures.

Previously, the city was notified it will receive $184,000 in additional community development block grant funds from the stimulus package. Corbitt said the city has decided to spend that money making repairs to sidewalks and retaining walls in the Pollard Mills neighborhood.