Federal stimulus money originally intended for widening the Santa Maria River bridge will now go into local government coffers, following an overwhelming decision from the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG).
On April 16, SBCAG voted 11-0, with county Supervisor Joni Gray and Carpinteria City Councilmember Joe Armendariz absent, to allocate the money to local projects.
Originally, SBCAG had contemplated setting aside the approximately $8.5 million in federal funds for the $61 million bridge project, which would widen the bridge from four to six lanes. Agency members, however, had a change of heart when they were informed that the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) has committed only about $766,000 to the project. According to Caltrans jurisdiction, the bridge is in San Luis Obispo County.
“There is no contract on how to pay for the bridge,” county Supervisor and SBCAG member Doreen Farr told the Sun in an interview after the meeting. “I don’t think it’s fair to spend so much in our county … particularly when we have quite a few
serious [financial] problems here at home.”
The county has an estimated $225-million backlog of projects, Farr said.
The Santa Maria River bridge project is a jointly funded project between Caltrans and San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. But only $10 million in Measure A funds from Santa Barbara County has been guaranteed for construction, according to SBCAG staff reports. That money, generated by a transportation sales tax, won’t be collected until Measure D expires in 2010.
Based on those findings, SBCAG’s Technical Transportation Advisory Committee recommended the agency set aside only $3.5 million for the project, but only if SLOCOG contributes a similar amount. The money would go toward paying for the project’s grant application.
Instead, the $8.5 million in funding will be divvied up among local jurisdictions. The decision makes sense to Farr, who said it’s more consistent with the Obama administration’s guidelines for spending the money.
“The purpose of the federal stimulus money is to reinvest money in the community and put people back to work,” she said.
SLOCOG is expected to discuss the project during its next meeting on June 3.
This article appears in Apr 23-30, 2009.