More Obama bucks are about to flow into Oxford Twp. and make it easier for pedestrians to get from Point A to Point B.
Last week, the township learned it was awarded $447,968 in monies from the federal Community Development Block Grant Recovery program (CDBG-R).
Township officials plan to use the money to construct a new 3,800-foot safety path along the north side of W. Drahner Road from Pontiac Street to M-24.
‘I was very happy about it,? said township Treasurer Joe Ferrari. ‘They said we (had) the Number One project that was submitted. They were very impressed with our application.?
The safety path money is coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which appropriated $1 billion in federal CDBG funds to state and local governments.
Of that, approximately $919,000 was available to communities in Oakland County, meaning Oxford received nearly half the total pot, according to Ferrari.
‘A lot of that was because our plans were in really good shape and because we’ve had such a stellar reputation in the past with block grants,? the treasurer explained. ‘We’re one of the few communities that doesn’t have a lot of extra block grant funds sitting on their books. The county knows that when they allocate funds, the township board’s been very good about spending those funds. That was one of the determining factors.?
Ferrari noted this is the second project for which the township’s received federal stimulus monies. Back in February, the township was selected to receive up to $1.5 million for the paving of the heavily-travelled gravel stretch of Ray Road between Meijer and N. Oxford Road.
The estimated cost to construct the safety path from Pontiac St. to M-24 is $576,905, not including the $40,000 in engineering fees previously approved by the township board.
However, Ferrari said the township’s engineering firm, the Rochester Hills-based Giffels-Webster Engineers, believes that project estimate is high and ‘the actual bids will come back quite lower.?
‘We’re hoping when the bids come in, they’ll come in close to what the grant award’s for,? Ferrari said.
Giffels-Webster is expected to spend about a week formally completing all the design work.
‘They just have some loose ends they’ve got to tie up,? Ferrari said.
He would like to see the project commence ‘within three to four weeks.?
‘Hopefully, we can get this thing done by the end of 2009 at the latest,? he said.
Ferrari noted this safety path project is ‘just the start? of what the township’s hoping to accomplish with federal stimulus dollars.
The township’s looking to obtain funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) to finance the construction of two other safety path segments along W. Drahner Road.
One would extend from Chirco Drive to Christ the King Church, while the other would connect existing safety path segments between Chirco Drive and Pontiac Street.
More than $2.7 billion in grants are available under the EECBG Program, which is also funded by the federal Recovery Act.