Tracking stimulus spending in Roanoke

     One of the glaring truths from our investigation into how stimulus money's been spent in Roanoke was with every step toward a completed project some workers may be a step closer to the unemployment line.

     Like Stephen Rossi's crew laying new pipe for the Western Virginia Water Authority, a project paid for by the stimulus.  Rossi says one of his last projects before the stimulus runs out.

     "What happens next?  We don't know.  That's a good question,” Rossi said.  Rossi owns S.C. Rossi & Co. Inc.

     State records show the feds pumped more than 34-million into the Star City in so-called "state government" awards--- or the pot of stimulus money Uncle Sam gave to the commonwealth to distribute.

     State records show Roanoke received another 71 million in "non state government awards," nearly half of it statistics show will be filtered through the Poff building renovation.

     Our 10 On Your Side investigation found stimulus dollars created jobs in Roanoke, saved some too, but at an enormous price tag.

     Several sources told us it provided a band-aid that in some cases, once removed, resulted in fear that since the money's run out jobs could be in jeopardy again, or outright proof that it did.

     Our project started with approximately 40 phone calls on a recent morning in October.

     While not everyone responded, more than a few did.

     Ranging from TAP, Total Action Against Poverty, with a nearly five-million dollar home weatherization project that's paid to weatherize nearly 500 homes regionally; creating 12 jobs.  TAP’s Owen Schultz said the project is on-going.

     Roanoke city received 1.4 million in stimulus money which it gave to a local contractor to build a walking bridge connecting a portion of the Tinker Creek greenway to the Roanoke River greenway.  Roanoke city engineer Phil Schmirer said it creating at least a dozen jobs and it’s almost finished.

     The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority was awarded more than 3.25 million dollars for repairs to properties like Melrose Towers, according to the authority’s director Glenda Edwards. 

     Edwards said it created only four jobs, but saved twenty.

     The Roanoke city police department received more than three-quarters of a million dollars in stimulus which allowed police chief Chris Perkins to hire five new officers and add a crime analyst.

     "Those five positions have allowed us to do extra things; extra emphasis on traffic safety; extra emphasis on crime control in high crime areas,” Perkins said.

     "I've got to be creative and find a way to keep that second crime analyst position,” the police chief said.

     The Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Virginia also received stimulus money.

     "If that got them to their next reading level or passed them to their next grade level that it was helpful at the time,” explained Laurie Gibbons, the club’s director.

     More than $42,000 in stimulus helped Gibbons hire five part time tutors who she said helped raise test scores for several city kids.

     Gibbons said, when the stimulus drip ran dry, she was forced to let two of them go.

     "Right now we don't spend any unnecessary funds.  We save everything we can and everything is focused on the students.  Period,” said the superintendent of Roanoke city schools, Dr. Rita Bishop.

     Rita Bishop is among many local school leaders who'll soon begin walking a budget tightrope with no stimulus net in case they fall.

     Bishop says stimulus money, and a meals tax, saved a number of new teachers' jobs.

     “I can tell you that this stimulus has done this company and these employees a lot of good,” Rossi said.

     Rossi said, without the stimulus, his workers might be home sitting on the couch; that the money saved him from at least a dozen layoffs.

     But with the stimulus gone, he and others say--- there are no safe bets, no easy answers, no sure plays.

     "The unknown is just very difficult,” Rossi explained.

     And it's those unknowns leaders in the public, private and non-profit sectors said were the most costly to local workers and their families.

Below are some more notes and excerpts from emails I received while researching this story:

A representative from the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project said it was awarded $700,000 in stimulus which created 6 positions.  She said 16 stimulus funded projects in Virginia.

A representative from the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center said stimulus when to help pay salaries for two years and saved seven positions.

The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission's Wayne Strickland sent me the information below on the commission's stimulus-funded "Volunteers for Energy Program."  The grant amount according to the state ARRA website was over $277,000: (email from Strickland in bold)

"Overview of the Volunteers for Energy Program:

In 2009 the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission received an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant to start a technical assistance program entitled Volunteers for Energy (VfE).    VfE helps large and small businesses, governmental agencies and non-profit organizations to reduce energy costs, adopt sustainable practices and become more economically competitive through energy efficiency and waste reduction.  VfE provides energy management recommendations to clients based on a return-on-investment (ROI) model, including estimated implementation costs and savings. These recommendations address low and no-cost energy saving opportunities as well as longer-term options that can provide significant return on investment.
        VfE services are provided by stipended engineers, scientists, construction specialists, architects and other professionals.  Most of the assessors have specialized certifications, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Building Performance Institute (BPI), or advanced training through the CREATES energy efficiency and renewable energy program, which is offered through community colleges in the region. VfE provides part-time employment for 17 assessors and has 20 energy efficiency assessments either completed or currently underway.  Since its inception, VfE has recommended over 500,000 kilowatt hours in energy savings.  Clients that received an assessment will soon be contacted to determine the amount of actual energy saved based on implementation of the VfE recommendations.
        More information on Volunteers for Energy can found at http://www.rvarc.org/energy/index.html or by contacting the Project Manager, Jeremy Holmes at jholmes@rvarc.org."

A representative from RADAR sent me information outlining how stimulus dollars replaced old vans, replaced state operating funds that had been cut, and purchased/upgraded security equipment on buses.  The information stated it created 25 jobs for RADAR's contractors.

Roanoke city public information officer Melinda Mayo emailed me regarding several stimulus-related items.  I copied that email below (email in bold):

"Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant:  $594,107  (The total amount of the grant is actually $963,700)

Project Managers:  John McGhee, Courthouse, Jailhouse & Civic Center Lighting Projects & Courthouse Digital Control projects;  Hong Liu - LED Traffic Signal Replacement projects & School Zone Solar (LED) Flashers; Phil Schirmer - Market Garage Lighting Retrofit.

ARRA funds used for the following:  LED lighting replacement in traffic signals, LED lighting retrofit of the Market Garage, Lighting retrofits of the Courthouse, Jailhouse Common and Administrative Areas, Jailhouse Secure Areas and Civic Center Exhibit Hall, installation of the Direct Digital Control system in the Courthouse, and School Zone solar (LED) flashers.

Number of Jobs:  4.93 jobs created

Lead Based Paint Hazard Control in Privately Owned Housing:  1,406,633

Project Manager:  Ann Weaver, Lead Safe Roanoke II Program Manager,
853-5841
ARRA funds used for the following: Identification and control of lead-based paint hazards in approximately 75 eligible privately owned rental and owner-occupied housing units.

Number of Jobs:  5.35 jobs (2 jobs created; 3.35 jobs saved)  This includes the Lead Safe Program Manager and Support Specialist, as well as jobs created by contractors awarded the ARRA funds.

Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grant:  $747,175

Project Manager:  Sgt. Jeffrey Newman (853-2337) and Samuel Penn-Timity
(853-1722) on behalf of Chief C.C. Perkins, Roanoke Police Department ARRA Funds used for the following:  Fund salaries and benefits of five (5) police officer positions to increase and enhance community policing and crime prevention efforts during a three-year period.

Number of Jobs:  5 Police Officers created."

Michele Daley, from Roanoke's Local Office on Aging, wrote in an email that stimulus dollars it received, over $72,000 according to state records, created at least one full-time position and one part-time position.  She wrote that it also helped Meals-On-Wheels bring food to about 30 more people.

Jim Shaver, of Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, also wrote me an email requesting its stimulus-related projects which I've again copied below (email in bold):

Here’s the information you requested about Goodwill Industries® of the Valleys and ARRA funding.  Please remember that these are not funds directly from the federal government to Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.  We responded to a Request for Funding Proposal (RFP) from Goodwill Industries International and we received these funds through GII as a sub grantee.

There are three I believe you are referencing totaling $1,245,055:

(1)   $389,896 for Good Prospects.  This grant supports the use of technology, including social media, for career exploration.  Much of the grant has been expended for the purchase of laptops which are distributed throughout the region at our various sites.  Persons who need computer training, or computer access, to search and train for employment are given access.  Currently the computers are used in conjunction with the Roanoke Public Library where free computer classes are conducted at Goodwill’s® Melrose Jobs Campus on Melrose Avenue in Roanoke. GoodProspects is also a portal for career explorers who are learning, sharing ideas, accessing resources, and getting online assistance from mentors and career coaches.  In a social media setting, online registration connects jobseekers with other job seekers and career coaches, locates jobs and local information on job fairs, resume writing training, mobile texting, location of local and regional job opportunities.  In October the program served 728 people. A total of 6,558 have been served since the program began in August 2010.  Back on the Path, a program through Cave Spring United Methodist Church that helps unemployed people network with each other has become a local partner.  Here’s the web address for Good Prospects: http://goodprospects.goodwill.org

In addition to job preparation for participants, Goodwill added one fulltime position to work with the program.

(2)  $299,723 for GoodGuides.  This is a mentoring program for teenage youth that pairs community volunteer mentors with youth.  To date 154 youth have been served including 48 in Lynchburg and 106 in the Roanoke Valley.  Year to date 2011 there have been 4,810 mentoring hours completed with these youth.  Additionally there have been 3,437 Career Awareness Hours generated through the grants. These hours provide job seeking, career exploration, and soft skills training to the participants.  Two full time positions and two part time positions were added for this program.  Recently, because of its administration of the GoodGuides program, Goodwill Industries of the Valleys received funding as a sub grantee of Goodwill Industries International, for three more years of GoodGuides.  It is one of only 10 Goodwill operations in the United States to have the program extended after the expiration of ARRA funding.

(3)  $555,436 for SCSEP.  The Senior Community Services Employment Program provides seniors 55 and older employment training and opportunity in the community.  This program is available in all 31 counties and 14 cities of Goodwill’s service area.  While this allocation was designed to serve 66 seniors, Goodwill actually placed 111 older workers in community service assignments and exited 19 into jobs in the community.  That does not include positions that were filled through this program within Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.  The program continues through a non ARRA grant with Goodwill Industries International.

Owen Schultz, with TAP, also said a stimulus-funded homeless prevention grant helped hire three new workers and help 695 families.  The amount of the grant is listed on the state ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) at $666,657.  It's unclear on the website if all of that money has been awarded.

Schultz also said another stimulus grant through the Workforce Investment Act helped train nurses.  He said the project created 4 new staff positions and has placed 155 nurses so far.  The amount of stimulus money is listed on the state ARRA website at $430,000. 

Schultz said a stimulus funded grant for early Head Start preschool helped create 28 new positions and enroll 125 children.

He also said TAP used another $990,000 stimulus grant to support many programs throughout the agency, including a $40,000 partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Freedom First Credit Union.  Shultz said the "Responsible Rides" program is now self-sustaining and has put 75 people in automobiles so far.