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Rappahannockers pitch proposals for federal stimulus money
In just four short weeks, Virginians have come up with ways to spend $466 billion in stimulus money. Some 9,160 projects have been submitted to Governor Tim Kaine.And Rappahannockers aren't about to be left out. They have submitted 35 projects totaling $277 million to the www.stimulus.virginia.gov Web site set up by Gov. Kaine in early February.
That's 13 times the annual budget of the county.
However, to be fair, two projects received multiple nominations: The Town of Washington's wastewater project and countywide Internet broad band.
Then there were two gargantuan proposals of $100 million each submitted with Rappahannock as the location. One is for road repairs and one for giving teachers across the state a salary increase.
It was also proposed that the budget of the Wise County Sheriff's office be increased by $35 million. How it ended up under Rappahannock County is anybody's guess. This project is also listed as "shovel ready."
One man, a Mr. Bryant Burill, suggested that the state invest a mere $250,000 in his home-based business to "help increase profits."
Removing the Wise County sheriff's payroll increase, the funding for teachers across the state, and the duplicate projects, the requests come in at a more reasonable $26 million.
Of the five broadband proposals, county administrator John McCarthy's was the least expensive at $350,000, a bargain basement price compared to the highest one submitted by Mark Outten (origin unknown) for $7 million, although this proposal said it would cover seven counties.
Asked why the county's proposal was so modest by comparison, McCarthy pointed out that the one submitted by Richard Schollmann for Embarq would use different technology (DSL) and the others were "so broadly written that we don't know exactly what they're going to do."
The proposed funding amount was also what the county originally proposed late in 2007 when it was considering working with Virginia Broadband.
Piedmont Broadband President Rich Shoemaker – whose system is already in place and recovering from a dispute with former board member Tom Gordon – submitted a request for a modest $500,000. Shoemaker said that Piedmont already has about 90 percent of the county covered.
Not to be outdone by her tenacious counterpart at Rappahannock County Public Schools, Kathy Grove, head of school at Wakefield Country Day School in Flint Hill submitted her own list of school facilities improvements along much the same lines as Dr. Bob Chappell's for the public schools except that Grove also asks for funding of four tennis courts.
Dr. Chappell was one of the very first to submit proposals for the stimulus money for the repair and upgrade of school facilities including a new ceiling insulation, asbestos removal, and a new roof for the elementary school.
The three requests – submitted by Pat Giles, Michelle Schwartz and JC Platt – for Town of Washington sewer funding essentially ask to cover the sewer hook-up fees due to economic hardship.
Emergency services coordinator Richie Burke asked for $250,000 for an addition to the Sperryville fire house.
There was also a submission to create a "Solar Electric Cooperative" in the Rappahannock region to install solar electric systems in low income households. Cost: $5 million.
And lastly, a hefty faith-based initiative, $2.5 million, for "clean tech jobs," (whatever those are, it was unclear in the description.)
There were smaller proposals also for things like educational programs, a regional literary magazine, and commemorating the Civil War Sesquicentennial.
The cutoff for stimulus requests was early March.
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