Just a few days after Gov. Brian Kemp surprised lawmakers and political watchers by some rare line-item style vetoes of $236 million in the $32.4 billion state budget, the governor announced the next round of project funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and its Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program. The total funding from this round of projects was $225 million for 142 qualified projects. Most of the projects are some type of parks- or recreation-related project, with a maximum amount of $2.2 million but some as small as $8,000 for a new scoreboard in Greene County.
“With our partners on both the local and state levels, we’ve prioritized helping Georgia’s communities further recover from the pandemic with a bottom-up approach,” said Kemp. “Today, we’re investing these funds to see that those most heavily impacted have even more resources at their disposal, and I want to thank our partners for helping us make that possible.”
The grant requirements restricted usage to either improvements or maintenance of recreational facilities or maintenance needs of other public facilities that may have seen greater use or deferred improvement because of the pandemic. In Atlanta, Woodruff Park received just under $2.2 million for “timely and necessary improvements to Downtown Atlanta’s signature greenspace.” Check back in a few years for the development of new amenities and infrastructure such as “accessible walkways through the 6-acre park, more lighting and security cameras, new amenities such as a café, dog park, improved playground, and a community-supported public art installation.”
The total funding for the City of Atlanta runs to almost $20 million, including $2.2. million each for sidewalk connections at Clark Atlanta/Atlanta University Center, updates to the Dunbar Neighborhood Center, sidewalk connections at Washington Park and improvements to Worksource Atlanta’s Community Center, among others.
“I appreciate Governor Kemp’s careful stewardship in awarding this funding to worthwhile projects in communities across our state,” said Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington. “Throughout the pandemic, the General Assembly worked shoulder to shoulder with Governor Kemp to protect our citizens and keep our economy moving. We remain committed to working together to see that our best days are still ahead.”
Infrastructure construction costs have skyrocketed in recent years in the U.S., illustrated by a fire station construction in northwest Atlanta that has run to $16 million. The reasons why the costs are so high in the U.S. are difficult to pin down. Some critics point to the National Environmental Policy Act and others point to litigation and NIMBY-ism (Not In My Backyard).
One investigation by Vox noted that the cost of rail in the U.S. is the sixth highest in the world, in spite of our rail being majority above ground, while the five above us are mainly tunneling – the most costly of rail infrastructure.
Bringing down infrastructure cost is a problem that will take years or decades to unravel but it is in everyone’s interest to do so. Budget hawks want to spend less and those that clamor for more infrastructure could build more. Unfortunately, lawyers and contractors involved may not be as concerned.
