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WRTA officials defend $2.2M in stimulus money for office work
YOUNGSTOWN — Officials with the Western Reserve Transit Authority defend the $2.2 million its receiving from the federal stimulus package to renovate and expand its administration offices as a job-creation project.
“A sizeable number of people will be employed” for the construction project, said Don Meszaros, WRTA’s director of maintenance. “It will provide people seven to eight additional months of employment. It will hopefully employ people from” the area.
The $2.2 million was among a $3.51 million allocation WRTA is to receive from the stimulus package’s transportation funding program.
The $787 billion federal stimulus package is designed to create and retain jobs.
A number of posters on Vindy.com made negative comments about the funding, questioning how the project creates or retains jobs.
James Ferraro, WRTA’s executive director, said the 24-year-old office on the lower portion of Mahoning Avenue needs to be improved and expanded.
“People will be put to work,” he added.
For the complete story, see Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com
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Comments
If anyone commenting here feels that the funds your elected officials have secured for communities are not being wisely spent, you should also consider sharing your thoughts to the Recovery.gov website:
http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/share...
Or if you DO approve of the projects that are slated to receive funding, you should share your thoughts with Recovery.gov all the same.
None of the funding should be used for improvements . It should only be used for Busing and additional routes . Only a few months ago the top brass were wining about not having enough funds for the bus routes . Smells like a scam ... WRTA need some outside oversite !!!!
" A sizeable number of people will be employed" building the new WRTA office. Yeah, for how long?
Is the WRTA about providing a service to the people who are paying for it, or is it about "improved and expanded" new digs? How much money DOES the WRTA take in? We've never gotten an answer.
Government works programs are not permanent jobs. At a time when employers have to cut jobs to remain solvent, our government ingores the private sector (our paychecks) and chooses to do government work and pork barrel spending. This does not stimulate the economy and our faith in these programs is being reflected in the dramatic decline of stocks on wall street. This further erodes our wealth, as we are losing our retirement 401k's. The people are speaking thru wall street, but our government is not listening. God help us all.
No suprise to me. Let's waste any money we can get then wonder why we run out and why no one will give you any more. stupid poeple never learn!
I think any construction would be needed in the bus station itself. The bathrooms are a disgrace. What a greeting for anyone coming into Youngstown via greyhound.
Mom 509,
Are they talking about the WRTA station on Mahoning or the Greyhound station near YSU?
They are not going to touch the actual station. Do you think the administrators at WRTA give a crap about the conditions of the bus station? No, they want to make sure that they have new offices with all the toys. So, how is this going to help stimulate the economy? Are we going to have more bus routes or fuel efficient buses? No, just more fat cat bereaucrats. This is disguisting.
With the money being thrown around I'd love to be someone's brother-in-law.
Yeah, but if you read the entire story, it says that the money was approved specifically for this purpose--they made a separate request for hybrid buses and that was turned down apparently.