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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Pierluisi Tours Projects in Lajas

LAJAS, Puerto Rico-Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi today visited the municipality of Lajas and, alongside Mayor Leovigildo “Leo” Cotte Torres and Representative Lydia Mendez, toured various projects that have received over $2 million in federal funds.

“Lajas has specific needs and I am eager to help the Mayor advance his agenda so that the economic growth that has been witnessed in this municipality can continue,” said Pierluisi.

The group visited a site where an affordable housing complex is being built with funding provided through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The complex is being constructed in the La Haya neighborhood at a cost of nearly $1.2 million.

The Resident Commissioner was also able to observe how the municipality had used $142,613 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to construct and improve handicapped-accessible sidewalks in the Lajas Arriba, Candelaria, and Vista Alegre neighborhoods.

The Resident Commissioner and the local officials also toured other projects being built with funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition, the group visited a number of public schools, including Santa Rosa, La Parguera, and Grant Pardo, each of which is putting a roof on its physical education facilities, at a cost of $400,000.

The group also visited tourist areas, such as Salinas Fortunas and La Parguera, where various projects—totaling $309,500—are underway to refurbish affordable housing.

During a tour of the land designated to become a large athletic complex, the Mayor expressed his and the communities’ interest in beginning its construction as soon as all of the permits are in hand.

The Resident Commissioner and the Mayor also discussed other projects in the municipality that need federal funding, including improvements to the municipality’s emergency management center.

To date, the Resident Commissioner has visited more than 60 of the Island’s municipalities as part of his initiative to better understand the needs of his constituents and to identify possible solutions.