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Frisco hopes for a piece of federal funding pie
By Ann Marie Shambaugh, Staff Writer
As children across the country send their wish lists to Santa Claus, the City of Frisco penned a wish list to send to the federal government. Frisco is one of 427 cities that created a record of projects it hopes to fund through a potential economic stimulus package that the Barack Obama administration is expected to sign.
Frisco’s wish list asks for nearly $10 million to fund 19 projects, ranging from $100,000 to install solar panels to power city hall to $1.8 million in downtown street improvements. Other requests include surveillance equipment, housing maintenance programs, and school resource officers.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors used a survey to urge cities to create wish lists that will stimulate local economies and create jobs. The results are part of the conference’s MainStreet Economic Recovery plan.
Nationwide, the cities requested $73 billion in federal funds for projects that could create 850,000 jobs. Maso believes the job creation could be much higher than the estimate. Frisco’s preliminary request states that the $10 million will create 21 jobs, but Maso said the city did not include job estimates on most of the projects because planning is still in the preliminary stages.
A $125,000 armored vehicle, for example, is on Frisco’s wish list. Maso said it may provide a couple of law enforcement jobs in Frisco, but the manufacturing, maintenance, and delivery of the vehicle could initiate jobs in other parts of the country.
“While you can’t quantify how many people are going to be hired to build this armored vehicle, we know that it will make an impact, especially when all the projects around the country are put together,” Maso said.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors asked cities to list projects that may be completed within two years. Maso said the items on Frisco’s list are projects that the city hopes to eventually complete, but without funding it could be several years before they begin.
Although the economic downturn is affecting the entire country, Texas has been spared some of worst consequences, such as plummeting home prices and massive amounts of layoffs. Maso said that the North Texas should still be eligible for federal funding, because the jobs created here will help the rest of the country.
“In the end, it’s not who deserves or doesn’t deserve [funding],” he said. “It’s what projects are nationally available to help ignite the economy.”
To view the specific funding requests from the 427 cities, visit www.spartnerships.com.
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