Region fares well in LHTAC rankings
SANDPOINT — With 92 applications and a total of $69.8 million in strategic initiatives grant requests, the Local Highway Transportation Council had its hands full.
Each application was ranked based on a multitude of factors, and those rankings were recently released with several North Idaho jurisdictions coming in at the top of the list.
“North Idaho did very, very well on their applications,” said Laila Kral, LHTAC deputy administrator.
The city Priest River, in particular, ranked second after being denied funding last year for its downtown revitalization project. Last year, Priest River was one of 79 applicants hoping to acquire a portion of the $11 million strategic initiatives fund. The city requested $750,000 last year, but ranked number 42, prompting city officials to postpone the downtown improvements. This year the city not only came in second, the amount requested is higher at $1 million request — the maximum amount allowed per jurisdiction.
“If the funding gets appropriated through the Legislature, then we are in a very good spot to be awarded that grant,” said Laurel Thomas, Priest River city clerk and treasurer.
LHTAC received 17 of the 92 applications from the Idaho Transportation Department’s District 1, from Benewah and Shoshone counties north. Seven of those projects are in the top 25 on the rankings list, and four Bonner County projects made the top 12. The Independent Highway District in Sandpoint came in right behind Priest River, in third for its Schweitzer Mountain Road overlay project. Bonner County ranked sixth for Squaw Valley and Grouse Creek bridge repairs, and the city of Kootenai ranked twelfth for its McGhee Road cement treated base project. In addition, Boundary County is in the top 20 for Tobe Way and Plato Drive improvements.
“Nothing is official on these until the money comes through,” Kral said. “... It is in the Legislature, so a lot can happen down there.”
The Local Strategic Initiatives program is part of the state’s Surplus Eliminator program, was established by House Bill 312 during the 2015 Legislative session. The law states that at the end of the year, remaining funds will be split between the rainy-day fund and the Surplus Eliminator program for state transportation projects administered by the Idaho Transportation Department.
During the 2017 Legislative session, Idaho lawmakers voted to continue the program through Senate Bill 1206. Now, however, the money is shared 60 percent to the state system and 40 percent to the local system.
The local funds are administered by LHTAC and per the law, eligible projects must be related to maintenance, and address safety and mobility.
LHTAC’s portion of the Surplus Eliminator this year is $24,262,500, Kral said, though a portion of that goes to the Children Pedestrian Safety Program. About $23.6 million will be designated for strategic initiatives projects.
The supplemental appropriations came through the Joint Finance Appropriations committee recently with a “do pass,” Kral said, but still needs to go through the House and Senate for approval.
“Once they approve it, then it will go to the governor, but it hasn’t yet hit the reading calendar for either the House or Senate,” she said. “So we just wait now.”
Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.