Congressman Mark Schauer is committed to getting results for the people of Hillsdale County. Below is an overview of his efforts to bring jobs and investment to our area.
2009 Omnibus Funding
Under the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which Congressman Schauer voted to support, Hillsdale County will receive funding for:
Hillsdale Dial-A-Ride program will receive $95,000 to strengthen the program’s services for senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Funding will be used for the replacement of 3 buses, technology upgrades, and to finish the construction of a new building from the buses and bus facilities account. Additional funds will be used for the replacement of one bus and electronic upgrades for general operational purposes. Sixty percent of Hillsdale's fleet is at least seven years old and eligible for replacement under FTA standards.
$250,000 in funding for The Manor, a non-profit residential treatment and special education facility, located in Jonesville. The Manor is a 137 bed private, non-profit residential treatment and special education facility which serves a wide variety of diagnostic categories. Under the Omnibus bill approved by the U.S. House last Friday, the school will receive funding to support its youth trauma and counseling services project, which provides trauma sensitive treatment for developmentally disabled children with behavioral difficulties, ages 6-18 years.
Recovery Act: School Funding
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Congressman Schauer voted to support, Hillsdale County school districts are expected to receive the following funding amounts:
- Camden-Frontier: $194,846 Title I-A increase; $188,000 IDEA increase
- Hillsdale: $454,118 Title I-A increase; $496,000 IDEA increase
- Jonesville: $120,916 Title I-A increase; $260,000 IDEA increase
- Litchfield: $91,919 Title I-A increase; $128,000 IDEA increase
- North Adams-Jerome: $58,058 Title I-A increase; $135,000 IDEA increase
- Pittsford: $84,384 Title I-A increase; $158,000 IDEA increase
- Reading: $139,639 Title I-A increase; $236,000 IDEA increase
- Waldron: $102,889 Title I-A increase; $102,000 IDEA increase
Recovery Act: Road Funding
As part of the Recovery Act, which Congressman Schauer voted to support, Hillsdale County will receive $6.8M in funding for rehabilitation and reconstruction of US-127 from the state line to M-34, starting August, 2009.
Recovery Act: Public Safety Funding
As part of the Recovery Act, which Congressman Schauer voted to support, Hillsdale County will receive a public safety grant of $20,642 through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. This funding will be used to help communities keep their neighborhoods safer with more police officers, prosecutors, and probation officers; more radios and equipment; more help for crime victims and more crime prevention programs for youth.
2010 Appropriations Requests
As part of the 2010 Appropriations process, Mark requested the following projects for Hillsdale County. To learn more about this process, and see a complete list of projects our office requested, click here.
Bus and Bus Facilities, Hillsdale Dial-A-Ride
$400,200 - Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
This funding request is for the purchase of two medium duty buses, a new storage/maintenance facility, and computer software. This request is a good use of taxpayer dollars because it would enhance and improve public transit services for residents in the City of Hillsdale.
Recipient:
Hillsdale Dial-A-Ride
97 North Broad Street
Hillsdale, MI 49242
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The Manor Schoolhouse Construction Project
$750,000 - Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
The Manor is a 137 bed private, non-profit residential treatment and special education facility. The Manor is a unique facility in that it provides trauma sensitive treatment for developmentally disabled children with behavioral difficulties, ages 6-18 years, through a diverse treatment program combined with an on grounds special education program. This funding request will allow The Manor to construct a new schoolhouse for the youth it serves. The building The Manor currently uses as its school was originally built as a small single-family home over 50 years ago. Although the house has been modified several times over the decades in an effort to address requirements for classroom space, the building remains inadequate to meet the needs of faculty and students.
The Manor employs approximately 250 people in Hillsdale County, the county with the state’s highest unemployment rate (17.3% as of January 2009). This request is a good use of taxpayer dollars because it will help retain those jobs, and will create an additional 80 construction jobs in the community.
Recipient:
The Manor
115 East Street
Jonesville, MI 49250
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The Manor Children’s Safety and Security Updates Project
$250,000 - Commerce-Justice-Science
This request is a good use of taxpayer dollars because it will provide essential security and safety upgrades at The Manor, a 137 bed private, non-profit residential treatment and special education facility for developmentally disabled children with behavioral difficulties. This funding will allow The Manor to replace and/or upgrade security cameras, fire safety systems, and other equipment and technology, which in many cases are as much as 30 years old, in its residential, educational and administrative buildings.
The Manor employs approximately 250 people in Hillsdale County, the county with the state’s highest unemployment rate (17.3% as of January 2009). This project will help retain those jobs, and will create an additional 80 construction jobs in the community.
Recipient:
The Manor
115 East Street
Jonesville, MI 49250
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Hillsdale County Public Health Dental Clinic
$400,000 - Labor Health and Human Services
This project is the construction of a Public Health Dental Clinic to serve citizens in Hillsdale and surrounding counties who do not currently have a dental health provider. (Approximately 47,500 people meet this definition.) This clinic will be located adjacent to the existing community health facility in Hillsdale.
The Public Health Dental Clinic would primarily serve children who live in southern, central Michigan and have Medicaid. Children and adults without Medicaid or dental health insurance would be eligible to receive services on a sliding fee schedule. No local dentists within Hillsdale County are currently accepting new Medicaid patients.
This request is a good use of taxpayer dollars because the clinic would employ nine full-time and part time professional staff (dentists, hygienists, office staff). Additionally, 20-30 construction jobs would be necessary for the construction of this facility.
Recipient:
Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency
570 N. Marshall Road
Coldwater, MI 49036
2010 Transportation Requests
On behalf of Hillsdale County, Mark has made the following requests for funding in the 2010 surface transportation authorization bill:
Reconstruct Litchfield Road from the Branch County Line to US-12 and St. Joseph Street in the city of Litchfield for a total length of approximately 14.55 miles.
A reconstructed roadway with smooth pavement, properly super-elevated curves, wider shoulders and guardrail will make for a much safer roadway and reduce crashes. The project would improve commercial truck access to the northwest corner of our county and serve the city of Litchfield’s industrial park.
Requested amount is $7,200,000.
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Reconstruct North Adams Road from Village of Jonesville to US-127 for a total length of 13.94 miles.
A reconstructed roadway with smooth pavement, properly super-elevated curves, wider shoulders and guardrail will make for a much safer roadway and reduce crashes. The project would improve commercial truck access to the northeast corner of our county and connect several villages with direct truck route access. The proposed project would improve the roadway to all-season status so that commercial truck traffic could travel the road the year around without having frost laws in the spring. This proposed all-season roadway would bisect a region where there are no east-west all-season roads for 14 miles.
Requested amount is $7,200,000.
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Reconstruct West Reading Road and West Elm Street from the Branch County Line to M-49 for a total length of approximately 4.21 miles.
A reconstructed roadway with smooth pavement, properly super-elevated curves, wider shoulders and guardrail will make for a much safer roadway and reduce crashes. The project would improve commercial truck access in the southwest corner of our county and provide area farmers with all-season access to The Andersons grain facility in Reading. The proposed project should improve mobility in the southwest corner of our county. The proposed project would improve the roadway to all-season status so that commercial truck traffic could travel the road the year around without having frost laws in the spring.
Requested amount is $2,400,000.
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Reconstruct Waldron Road from M-34 to US-12 for a total length of approximately 14 miles.
Given the current poor road conditions, most commercial traffic avoids Waldron Road. The project would improve commercial truck access to the northeast corner of our county. Given the current poor road conditions, most commercial traffic avoids Waldron Road. The project would improve commercial truck access to the northeast corner of our county. Reconstruction would allow traffic to return to this road, which is currently rough, uneven and in poor condition. There are several dips and settlement areas that could cause motorists to lose control.
Requested amount is $6,400,000.
Green Schools Funding
Congressman Schauer voted in favor of legislation that will improve our public schools, create clean energy jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lower energy costs for taxpayers. According to the House Education and Labor Committee, local school districts are expected to receive the following funding amounts for FY2010 under the House-passed bill:
- Camden-Frontier, $134,000
- Hillsdale, $332,000
- Jonesville, $106,000
- Litchfield, $72,000
- North Adams-Jerome, $51,000
- Pittsford, $71,000
- Reading, $114,000
- Waldron, $71,000
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