By Liz F. Kay and Tyeesha Dixon , liz.kay@baltsun.com and tyeesha.dixon@baltsun.com|January 14, 2009
As the incoming administration puts together an enormous stimulus plan to jump-start the beleaguered economy, Baltimore and Annapolis are among the cities gathering a long list of projects they say are worthy of investment.
After meeting with advisers to President-elect Barack Obama in Chicago last month - and briefly with Obama himself - members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors compiled a list of more than 15,000 "shovel-ready" infrastructure projects, estimated to cost $96 billion, that could create more than 1 million jobs.
Baltimore added more than $300 million worth of school improvements, roads and other projects to the list, and Annapolis tacked on nearly $80 million.
But even if money flows from Washington, it's not clear what the final criteria for selecting projects might be.
"None of us exactly know how it's going to be structured," said Baltimore Deputy Mayor Andy Frank.
The mayors group has lobbied for the money to go directly to cities instead of passing through state coffers, where it would be subject to funding allocation formulas.
"We're just preparing ourselves," Frank said. "Our responsibility is to make sure we have a clear list and when we know what the criteria is, we're ready with a list of projects."
Many of the proposals would improve the quality of life in Baltimore, city officials say.
"We'd like to see a connection between stimulus spending and making the city more livable," Frank said.
The projects are ones that city officials believe are either fully designed, and thus would meet the federal government's "shovel-ready" standard, or will be within the next six months, Frank said.
Some of the money would resurrect projects that have stalled because of the economic downturn.
Several transportation requests, including replacement of traffic detectors and more equipment for traffic management systems, reflect the decreased amount of money flowing from the state, Frank said.
Highway funds from gas taxes have declined during the recession, so "there are projects that are ready to go that we do not have full funding for," he said.
The 38 projects total more than $300 million in improvements, estimated to create more than 2,000 jobs. They range in price from as low as $350,000 for fire safety improvements at Thomas G. Hayes Elementary School in East Baltimore up to $50 million for improvements to the Lake Montebello water reservoir.
