Construction workers at the Bonneville Transit Center in downtown Las Vegas were paid with federal stimulus money. The Regional Transportation Commission received the money.
The $787 billion federal stimulus is winding down and although the state and local governments received money to supplement tight budgets and improve infrastructure, Southern Nevada contractors and other companies said it didn’t have the benefit they desired.
“From a construction-industry point of view, it was negligible,” said Steve Holloway, Associated General Contractors executive vice president. “Most of the money went for underwriting government jobs, and that had no direct or indirect bearing on our industry.”
Although stimulus money was allocated for transportation projects, Holloway said the view is that much of the money went for maintenance and wasn’t enough to make a “real impact” on the industry.
Engineering and architecture firms, which have been struggling in the recession because of the lack of construction projects, haven’t benefited a lot from the stimulus either, said Mark Hedge, principal with Lochsa Engineering, which designed a bus terminal for the Regional Transportation Commission.
The biggest chunk of the federal stimulus, $288 billion, went toward tax cuts. Of that, $237 billion was for individuals.
About $155 billion went to health care, with half that going to Medicaid for states and a small portion for health-related construction projects. Another $100 billion went to education, with more than half going to school districts to avert layoffs.
Another $82 billion went to unemployment benefits and to help low-income workers and retirees.
About $105 billion went to infrastructure investment, including $48 billion to transportation and billions for government buildings, housing and energy programs — the chunk that private companies were hoping to benefit from.
The stimulus package designated $2.2 billion for Nevada government, some of which was passed on to local governments. All but $500 million has been received so far, said Charles Harvey, who is overseeing the state’s stimulus program.
By the state’s calculation, about 8,100 jobs have been created or retained with the stimulus money. More than half of the money went to help pay unemployment benefits and cover Medicaid. About $213 million was designed for transportation projects and in the second quarter nearly 300 jobs were created because of it, Harvey said.
Based on the latest estimates from the Council of Economic Advisers, 29,000 jobs were created in Nevada, directly and indirectly, Harvey said. Many expected a greater effect, and the jobs won’t be sustainable unless the economy improves, but the money has made a difference, he said.
“I think it has definitely helped,” Harvey said. “I look at it like we impacted lives instead of numbers, and we are not (even showing) the indirectly induced jobs created as a result.’’
Those could be cement companies when highway projects are completed or restaurants serving more workers going out to eat, Harvey said.
The stimulus has helped engineering firms such as Converse Consultants. Kurt Goebel, its senior vice president, said the construction of solar power plants on federal land has created environmental assessment work.
Converse has also benefited from $400,000 in grant funds for brownfield environmental assessments in Northern California, Goebel said.
“I think it has helped the industry, but I think it is marginal help.”
The biggest cheerleaders of the stimulus package are state and local governments.
Kenny Young, North Las Vegas assistant city manager, gives the stimulus package a grade of B-minus, but only because of the regulations and bureaucratic hurdles that had to be overcome last year, he said. Otherwise, it got an A, even though more money was needed, he said.
“We should have gotten a lot more (in Southern Nevada) because we are more severely impacted than other parts of the country,” Young said.
North Las Vegas received about $19 million, including funds administered through the state, Young said.
The biggest chunk — $8.6 million — allowed the city to purchase foreclosed homes from banks as a way to stabilize neighborhoods. They will be repaired and set aside for purchase by people with low to moderate incomes or for rental housing, Young said.
The city also received more than $9 million for road resurfacing, and also received money for waterline improvements and energy conservation.
“It has helped us deliver a couple of projects we would otherwise not have been able to provide,” Young said. “We were able to provide employment for people and projects for companies to work on. We were able to do projects that otherwise would have been put off for years.”
That was echoed by Tracy Bower, RTC spokeswoman who said projects would not have been built without the stimulus money. The commission received $39.1 million for roadway projects in the valley and another $33.6 million for transit projects.
“It made a big impact for the RTC,” Bower said. “It help fund projects that otherwise wouldn’t have been built.”
The $14 million Bonneville Transit Center in downtown Las Vegas received $5.6 million in stimulus money, and the $11 million Centennial Hills Transit Center received more than $6 million.
Another $22 million in federal funds is being used for a new rapid transit line linking Henderson and Las Vegas via Boulder Highway.
Of the $33.5 million that has been allocated for Las Vegas so far, $21.5 million is earmarked for infrastructure projects. Other money is geared for law enforcement and court programs and other projects.
“The (stimulus) funds received by Las Vegas have allowed the city to perform important road construction that will help ease traffic, and to fund projects that will reduce carbon footprints and help make our community more sustainable,” city spokeswoman Diana Paul said.
Clark County said it has spent about $8 million of the $47 million it has been awarded by the federal government so far, creating more than 600 jobs. The biggest chunk of the money, $24 million, is for highway improvements.
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