Albany unveils federal agenda

ALBANY, Ga. — The Albany City Commission has released its federal agenda for fiscal year 2012 outlining the specific initiatives that it believes are worthy of consideration of funding and support from the federal delegation in Washington.

Given the current economic climate and the direction of the prevailing political winds, city officials say that they know getting money for pet projects will be tough, but that they believe they have developed a strategy that is both reasonable and beneficial to the community as a whole.

“We began altering our strategy years ago … instead of just asking for money, we now use our lobbyist to take a two-pronged approach at making our request for funding,” Assistant City Manager Wes Smith said. “We can’t just ask for money, we have to justify why its important and so we’ve developed a multi-faceted approach when it comes to federal funding.”

The projects can be lumped into four main categories: Economic development/Science and Technology; Environment and Natural Resources; Crime Prevention/Juvenile Justice and Delinquency prevention; and Public Transportation.

That being said, this congressional wish-list is sizable.

The first item on the list alone requests $48 million to help the city separate the sanitary sewer and storm water system at their oldest segments through downtown. The “Holloway V Outfall Initiative” is part of a project that has been discussed for years but has never been properly funded.

Also on the list is an upgrade to the sewer system to sustain current capacity and avoid discharges into the Flint River. This “Westside Interceptor” improvement package is estimated to cost $6 million.

The city is also requesting an additional $2 million in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for phase III of its terminal expansion project.

For public safety, the city is requesting funding from the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program to further build out the multi-use First Responder Emergency Training Center in Southern Albany.

Finally, the city is asking for multiple road and highway improvements under the next five-year reauthorization of the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users or SAFETEA-LU legislation by congress.

This includes bridging funding gaps for projects to widen Highway 133, reconfigure the Jefferson Avenue intersection, Westover Boulevard extension, Clark Avenue widening and extension funding for the Liberty Expressway.