Recovery begins as federal stimulus dollars trickle down in Northwest Indiana

Local governments across Northwest Indiana have begun putting federal stimulus dollars to work one year after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's passage.

Work on assisting homeless renters, removing lead-based paint from inside children's homes and reducing energy use is ongoing. Officials said the full promise of job creation envisioned in the recovery act will be realized once outdoor construction projects get under way with warmer weather.

More than $55 million in nonschool and nontransportation funds are flowing to the region, a Times analysis of data from the federal government's Recovery.gov Web site shows. Money is going to Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, Portage, Lake Station, Hebron, Lowell, Schererville and Valparaiso, as well as Lake County and Porter County economic development commissions, the North Township trustee's office and the Valparaiso Lakes Area Conservancy District for a variety of projects.

Last Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law Feb. 17, 2009.

Although local officials were often hurried to submit projects, federal agencies distributing the dollars have only recently made the money available. Valparaiso, for instance, had to roll the dice on an overhaul of its downtown fire station.

"There was a big push for shovel-ready projects, so the city gambled and went ahead with the architectural and engineering work not knowing if we would get the award. We were notified Oct. 2 of the grant," Valparaiso Fire Chief David Nondorf said.

"Then we had to complete a preliminary environmental and historical report and sent it off to them. It was a lot of paperwork. The first report was due Oct. 10 so I had eight days to do it, but I talked to them two to three weeks ago and they said we should be receiving the final report soon. Then we can send it out to bids in middle to late spring."

The grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is earmarked to remodel the downtown station. "This will replace the building's flat roof with a pitched roof and add about 800 square feet on the second floor for a women's dorm, exercise room and bathroom," he said. "The station didn't have separate facilities for women when it was built in 1965."

Nondorf said the remodel also will let the department locate its aerial ladder downtown, nearer to the Valparaiso University campus.

Valparaiso also won a grant to upgrade the mobile data units police officers use to receive information on suspects, as well as communicate with other cars and the police station, Assistant Police Chief Richard Spicer said.

Jacquelyn Drago-Hunter, Gary's community development director, said multimillion dollar grants will help her city repair its streets and homes.

"We have 14 locations throughout the city where we will redo the streets. Of course we can't do them during the wintertime, so we are looking for them to begin sometime after next month," she said.

The work will, in some places, include replacing sewer and curbs, in addition to resurfacing the pavement. The bidding process for street construction vendors begins this week. It is expected to create as many as 30 jobs for city residents.

Drago-Hunter said other stimulus grants awarded to Gary already are up and running, including a healthy homes program. The city inspects homes and day care centers and other properties housing children younger than 6, looking for lead-based paint or other toxic hazards. City Hall will hire a Gary-based contractor to remediate the hazards. Six city businesses have gone to Indianapolis for training in this type of environmental cleanup. Work has begun in 15 buildings. And the ultimate goal is to clean 300 buildings.

North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan said his office is handling stimulus dollars "to help people find jobs, provide transportation so they can get to their jobs and keep them in their homes."

One grant funds a homelessness and rapid rehousing project for the cities of Hammond and East Chicago. "We do the case management for clients who are renters. If they are being evicted, we help them become self-sufficient by finding them education and unemployment," Mrvan said.

"We have the advantage of using federal stimulus dollars instead of local property tax dollars and not deplete our ability to help the overall sum of people who need township assistance."