On Feb. 17, 2009, President Obama signed the $790 billion American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) into law as an effort to stimulate the struggling economy and create jobs. It is the goal of Sarasota County to take advantage of funding available through ARRA and deploy those funds through projects that will have the greatest impact on our community. Federal stimulus dollars will come to Sarasota County through various state and federal government agencies and each have a detailed set of regulations on how the money can be utilized and specific deadlines that must be met.

How will federal stimulus funding be spent in Sarasota County?
Federal stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will impact numerous local projects and programs. Residents of Sarasota County will benefit from the federal stimulus funds in many different ways.

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Business and Economic Development
Various economic development and business-related assistance programs were given funding through the Recovery Act. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has several loan and bond programs that have been expanded including the Basic 7(a) Loan Program and the Microloan Program. To find out more, contact SBA’s Miami district office at 305-536-5521 or visit SBA’s Recovery Website.

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Criminal Justice
Sarasota County is receiving a total of $1,101,217 in ARRA funds specifically for criminal justice programs through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants. The funding is being distributed among the following programs:

• Pharmaceutical Diversion Investigative Unit
  ARRA Funding: $538,806
• Children and Families Supervised Visitation Program
  ARRA Funding: $40,000
• Crossroads Long-Term Women’s Residential Program
  ARRA Funding: $50,000
• Felony Probation Drug Evaluations
  ARRA Funding: $25,000
• Delinquency Court: Teens and Family Counseling
  ARRA Funding: $50,000
• Family Reunification Program
  ARRA Funding: $65,000
• YMCA Youth Shelter
  ARRA Funding: $50,000
• Mental Health Evaluations
  ARRA Funding: $6,000
• Juvenile Assessment Center
  ARRA Funding: $89,694
• Domestic Violence Coordinator
  ARRA Funding: $63,125
• Sexual Offense and Abuse Rehabilitation
  ARRA Funding: $60,000
• Mentor for Success
  ARRA Funding: $63,592

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Education
The Recovery Act made significant provisions for educational funding to benefit students from early learning to post-secondary education through the U.S. Department of Education. The funding will be used by the state to prevent cuts to educational services and distributed to school districts to help increase academic performance. Funding will also go to programs such as Early Steps, the School Lunch program, and Enhancing Education through Technology program.

For more information about educational funding through the Recovery Act, visit the State of Florida’s Recovery website or the U.S. Department of Education’s Recovery website.

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Environmental Protection
Sarasota County has applied for funding to help improve native marine habitats that are vital to the fabric of our environmental resources.

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Energy Efficiency and Weatherization
The Recovery Act provided funding for programs that promote energy conservation, the use of alternative energy sources and the retrofitting of buildings and homes to be more energy efficient. Some of the projects that will impact Sarasota County and its residents include:

• Energy audits and retrofits for residential, commercial and public structures and an energy conservation public education campaign
  Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG)
  ARRA Funding: $2,524,800
• Aid for low-income families to help reduce home energy costs through retrofits and home weatherization
  Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)
• Competitive grants are being made available through the State Energy Program for alternative fuel, solar energy, and other energy-related projects; Sarasota County may be able to receive federal stimulus funding through this state program:
  State Energy Program
  ARRA Funding: Unknown amount

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Housing
The Recovery Act has provided numerous opportunities for improvements to low-income and public housing as well as programs to help individuals and families from becoming homeless.

• Homelessness prevention programs including financial assistance for renters and housing relocation services
  ARRA Funding: $581,819
• Grants and loans available to property owners of government-subsidized housing to make energy and green retrofit investments (Assisted Housing Retrofit Program)
  Funding will flow directly from the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development to eligible property owners, who will each be notified of the opportunity to apply for funding
  ARRA Funding: Undetermined amount
• Modernization, maintenance and development of public housing
  ARRA Funding: $1,132,916 (Sarasota) $99,008 (Venice)
  Organizations to contact for more information: Housing Authority of the city of Sarasota Housing Authority or city of Venice Housing Authority

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Neighborhood Improvements
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development is administering Recovery Act funding through the additional funding for Community Services Block Grants (CSBG). The CSBG allocation that Sarasota County is receiving will go to the following projects:

• Improvements to the North Port Social Services Center
  ARRA Funding: $100,000
• Fencing around Lime Lake retention pond
  ARRA Funding: $45,000
• Sidewalk installation
  ARRA Funding: $97,440
• Laurel Park drainage improvements
  ARRA Funding: $100,000
  Administration of neighborhood improvements
  ARRA Funding: $38,047

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Roads
The Florida Department of Transportation made recommendations to the state legislature on high priority road improvement projects that met the criteria outlined by the federal government for Recovery Act stimulus funding. The following projects were approved by the legislature to be constructed in the near future.

• Road projects in Unincorporated Sarasota County
  • Widening of U.S. 301 from Myrtle Avenue to DeSoto Road from four to six lanes
    ARRA Funding: $15,700,633 Total Project Cost: $16,210,025
  • Resurfacing of University Parkway from U.S. 301 to I-75
    ARRA Funding: $2,148,068 Total Project Cost: $5,344,811
  • Resurfacing of University Parkway from U.S. 41 to U.S. 301
    ARRA Funding: $753,068 Total Project Cost: $2,006,963
  • Resurfacing of Venice Avenue from Ramsey to Jacaranda Boulevard
    ARRA Funding: $816,068 Total Project Cost: $1,248,538
  • Resurfacing of Cattlemen Road from Bahia Vista to south of Fruitville Road
    ARRA Funding: $395,068 Total Project Cost: $876,707
• Road projects in the city of North Port
  • Addition of a left turn lane, improvements to the intersection, widening bridge and resurfacing at Sumter Boulevard from Hansard Avenue to City Center Boulevard.
    ARRA Funding: $1,448,068 Total Project Cost: $15,640,000
• Road projects in the city of Sarasota
  • Siesta Drive drainage improvements between north Siesta and Henson Bayou bridges
    ARRA Funding: $1,053,068 Total Project Cost: $1,539,468
• Road projects in the city of Venice
  • Intersection improvements at Venice Avenue and Harbor Drive
    ARRA Funding: $455,000 Total Project Cost: $522,061
• Road projects in the Town of Longboat Key
  • Landscaping along S.R.-789
    ARRA Funding: $500,000 Total Project Cost: $506,000

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Transit
Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) will be receiving funds to make improvements to various components of the local bus system.

• Bus system improvements including bus replacement, bus shelters and security enhancements
  ARRA Funding: $4,618,693
• Bus shelters
  ARRA Funding: $300,000

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Workforce
A significant focus of the Recovery Act is to help people who are unemployed get back into the workforce. The Suncoast Workforce Board is receiving funds to expand services such as career counseling and job training.

• Youth job training and summer youth employment programs
  Organization to contact for more information: Suncoast Workforce Board
  ARRA Funding: $1,007,929
• Adult workforce services including job training and career counseling
  Organization to contact for more information: Suncoast Workforce Board
  ARRA Funding: $549,232
• Dislocated worker services including Jobs Etc. programs
  Organization to contact for more information: Suncoast Workforce Board
  ARRA Funding: $2,834,614
• Support for Jobs Etc. one-stop career center and Employ Florida Marketplace
  Organization to contact for more information: Suncoast Workforce Board
  ARRA Funding: $594,477