"We haven't seen it start yet," said Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman. For the most part, "the projects that were funded, they haven't started yet."

The most work so far may have gone to extra duties for city and state employees involved in the funding pipelines.

STRINGS ATTACHED

While stimulus-funded construction could yet help employ contractors, Kauffman said, "more jobs could've been created if (money) would've come directly to communities."

Instead, federal agencies sent it to state agencies, who had to figure out how to award the money to various communities. That's led to some last-second requests for more information in various cases in Goshen as different city departments have gone through the grant process.

"We've gotten calls from the state on a Thursday saying, 'Oh, we need this new information by Monday.' It's a learning process for the state," said Becky Hershberger, who's overseeing the process to get $1.5 million in ARRA funds for brownfield clean-up in Goshen.

Another of the city's bids for ARRA funds is on hold because the state needs more information, according to Christy Ryman with the city's legal department.

THE CASH HELPS, BUT DIDN'T MAKE IT HAPPEN

The biggest chunk of stimulus funds to make its way here so far is roughly $5.5 million to help fund more than $35 million in work on the city's water and sewer systems, including a combined-sewer overflow facility that will keep polluted water out of the river.

The thing is, that project was going to happen anyway, with or without stimulus money. "We'd have had to do that project anyway, so the jobs would've been there," said Kauffman.

Dustin Sailor, stormwater engineer for the city, said the stimulus just sweetened the deal for local residents. "We were looking at a daunting number, 50 percent or higher rate increase" for sewer customers, Sailor said. The stimulus package kept the potential increase in the neighborhood of 34 percent.

"It kind of came out in a deal that says, OK, how do you not do it with getting that kind of money? Costs only go up, the just never go down. It made it that much more desirable," he said.

The only other project that's happened to this point is the addition of $74,612 worth of sidewalks on North Seventh Street.

The stimulus funding also provided the Goshen Police Department with $51,148 to buy equipment, according to Jose Miller, administrative adjutant for the police department.

PROJECTS COMING SOON

Bashor Road will be repaved between Reliance and Elkhart roads, and Eighth Street will be paved from Madison to College avenues soon, giving $434,000 in stimulus funds to Niblock Excavating, according to Mary Cripe with the city's engineering department.

Niblock also will get an extra $78,000 in stimulus funds to add some extra sidewalk work to an already planned federal "Safe Routes to Schools" project.

Contractors will bid on additional paving work on Dierdorff Road, Middlebury Street, Clinton Street and Lincoln Avenue later this month, with construction expected to happen later this year, according to Cripe. That work, all ARRA funded, is estimated to cost just shy of $850,000.

HOPES FOR EVENTUAL GRANTS

In addition to funds already awarded, the city of Goshen has a few hopes for future stimulus funding.

* The city's applied for money to replace the central fire station on North Third Street. Fire Chief Dan Sink isn't optimistic about the chances of getting ARRA funds for the new fire station, though. The station would be located just north of the existing station.

* Energy efficiency upgrades are sought for one fire station and for the Municipal Annex Building (the old Goshen High building at Fifth and Jefferson streets). This grant request would replace boilers with high-efficiency systems that would save the city utility money.

* If another round of federal stimulus funding is passed by Congress, the city will apply for that cash, too.