TAYLOR – The city will receive $3 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money for the construction of a sound wall along I-94 at Telegraph Road. The project is slated to begin this fall.
Mayor Cameron Priebe said Tuesday that the award was the result of the city’s request for stimulus money from December 2008. The funds will be sent directly from the federal government to the state of Michigan.
“I am proud to say that the city of Taylor was ahead of the curve applying for stimulus money even before the new president was sworn in,” Priebe said.
The former city administration and City Council approved Taylor’s participation of $3 million for the sound wall project back on Aug. 20, 2002. Priebe’s administration has been seeking relief from the commitment since November 2007.
“We met with the state many times in an attempt to get some relief from the commitment; the stimulus plan was the relief we needed,” Priebe said.
“I was disappointed when I learned of this $3 million problem when taking office in 2005, but a contract is a contract. We agreed to do it,” Priebe said. “It turns out to be a win-win situation. The residents get the sound wall they need and the city of Taylor is off the hook for an earlier commitment we were struggling to meet.”
Priebe praised Joseph Nardone, the city’s executive director of development services, who requested the stimulus money on behalf of the city and coordinated the application process with his staff.
The mayor also thanked U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Dearborn), state Rep. Douglas Geiss (D-Taylor) and state Sen. Raymond Basham (D-Taylor), along with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) and the Michigan Department of Transportation, including Director Kirk Steudle and Kim Avery, manager of the Taylor Transportation Service Center.
“On behalf of all of our residents – those who will benefit from the sound wall and those taxpayers who are relieved of the financial burden – thank-you to all who helped,” Priebe said.