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Recovery Act monies are being distributed to North Carolina primarily through existing federal/State channels in different program areas, such as transportation, education, health and human services, etc. (some monies constitute grants to individuals [tax reduction/stimulus, food stamps, etc.]).
A portion of the monies received through existing State of North Carolina channels is available to towns on the basis of competitive grants. Morrisville staff constantly monitors the proper channels to obtain the most money possible for our qualifying projects.
For instance, we participate with the local regional transportation planning organization which prioritizes transportation projects all over Wake County to ensure that Morrisville’s projects are given fair consideration in priorities for the region (at this time, however, Morrisville does not have any “shovel ready” road projects to qualify for transportation funding).
The Town does, however, have a building project that may qualify for stimulus funds. A new Fire Station has already gone through the design phase, and should be ready for construction should the stimulus grant.
The Recovery Act also offers grants for Firefighters and Police Officers, and Morrisville staff have prepared the necessary grant applications for these new positions. The grants typically will pay all direct personnel costs in the first year and a decreasing share for each of the following two or three years. Over time, the town will have to pick up all the cost for these positions.
Pursuing these grants may not be feasible with our long-term budgeting. The Town has applied through Wake County for additional CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds for sidewalks in the community, and the Town plans to submit an application for an Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant funded through Recovery Act monies (to be used for energy audits, building retrofits, other energy and resource conservation efforts). Submittal requirements have not been finalized.