The request for funds from the federal economic stimulus package was approved by the BDA board when its members met Monday evening at the Chase Field Industrial and Airport Complex. Montez said the request for funds will be sent to the congressman along with a similar wish list being prepared by the Bee County Commissioners Court.
Bee County commissioners agreed to meet on Tuesday to develop their own “wish list.”
“I join commissioner (Susan) Stasny in saying I don’t really like taking money like this; however, if they’re giving it away we might as well stand in line and try to get some of it,” Bee County Judge David Silva, a Republican, told commissioners during their regular monthly meeting on Monday. “Whether we will get some of the funding, I don’t know. Various counties have already making these lists of projects. Nueces County already has a list out there and I know San Patricio County has a list.”
To qualify for funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, projects must retain or create jobs. Also, projects must be “shovel ready,” or projects in which engineering and architecture work have been completed and all that is needed is the funding.
Silva said the city of Beeville and Beeville ISD also have expressed and interest in developing wish lists of their own. Silva said he will invite representatives from BISD, BDA and the city of Beeville to Tuesday’s meeting.
The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. and will be open to the public.
Montez told the eight members present at the BDA meeting that federal representatives would be getting considerable money for their districts after the $827 billion stimulus package is passed.
Senators in Washington were expected to approve the package as early as this week. However, since Senate and House of Representatives versions of the bill differ, a final compromise will have to be worked out in a conference committee after senators approve their legislation.
Montez was not sure how much of the money would be going to Hinojosa’s district but said he had worked out a good list of projects that need funding at Chase Field.
Those included a new $10 million, 100,000-square foot hangar at the former naval air station that could be used by the complex’s largest tenant, Sikorsky Aerospace Maintenance, if the company needs additional space to expand its operation.
Montez said another option would be to renovate the existing Hangar 26, bringing plumbing, electrical wiring, fire protection and other facilities in the hangar up to current Department of Defense standards.
That could be done for $5 million, he said. A new hangar would cost twice as much but cost more to build. However, the BDA would need to provide a building for the current tenants in that hangar, General Shelters.
Montez also said the BDA needs about $4 million to renovate the large doors on Hangars 24 and 25, where Sikorsky already is working. And both hangers need environmental climate control.
Montez said water lines to those hangars need to be moved and hangar shop areas need to be expanded. All that would be included in $4 million package.
The director included renovations for the former Training Air Wing III hangar, which he called “the wood hangar.”
He said about $3 million needs to be spent on that structure. Work would include a new roof and new hangar doors. However, since the building is a historical site, any renovations to it would have to be approved by the Texas Historical Commission.
Other items on Montez’s list included $800,000 for drainage improvements, $1.9 million to resurface the main runway, $600,000 for taxiway improvements, $200,000 for parking apron improvements and another $200,000 to make repairs on the perimeter fence around the Chase Field property.
“These are what I think need to be done,” Montez told the board. When asked if he thought it would be possible for the authority to get any of those projects funded, Montez said “anything is possible at this point in time.”
The director said Hinojosa could recommend infrastructure improvements be funded for airports that are defense related. That could include improvements for Chase Field.
“Will we get a check for $32 million?” Montez asked. “Probably not. But we could get some of it.”
Because much of the stimulus money will be directed toward projects that can put people to work as quickly as possible, Montez said federal agencies will want to know which local projects are “shovel ready.” The term applies to projects that are already engineered and which are ready to be put up for bids by contractors.
He told board members that none of the items on his list meet the “shovel ready” criterion. “But we’re going to be like everybody else, not shovel ready.”
BDA Board President Laura Fischer reminded fellow board members that Montez had done his homework, and that he had some pretty good estimates of what each project would cost.
“It’s a wish list,” Montez admitted.
“The stimulus is big,” Fischer said. “It’s going to get passed. We might as well try to get some of it steered our way.”
Board member John Brockman reminded the others that if a project is shovel ready, then the entity undertaking the job probably already has funding in place. Those projects probably would not receive stimulus funds anyway. He suggested that should put the BDA’s list on an equal footing with lists being prepared by other entities.
Board member Jimbo Martinez asked if any environmental cleanup needed to be completed at Chase Field. Montez said there were still some environmental issues outstanding.
Martinez said that in the House version of the package $300 million was included for environmental cleanup. He said the BDA might qualify for some of that money.
Board members then voted unanimously to give Montez the authority to submit the list to the Commissioners Court.
Precinct 1 County Commissioner Carlos Salazar Jr. said he believes civic leaders in Bee County owe it to taxpayers to submit a wish list in hopes of getting a share of the economic stimulus funding.
“We want the taxpayers of Bee County to know that we’re working on a project list ourselves,” he said. “The county might not have a project but maybe the BDA might have one, or the school district, or the city, and if we don’t take action we won’t see any results,” he said.
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