It’s impossible to predict how many people will be hired, but hundreds of millions in federal stimulus money soon will begin pouring into the Pikes Peak region.

Local agencies and military bases stand to receive upwards of $360 million for major projects, such as an overpass, and tiny tasks, like fixing dog kennel floors. Some allocations aren’t guaranteed and hinge on a competitive process or strict federal guidelines.

The bottom line for those out of work or struggling to stay in business is lots of labor will be needed and the agencies said most of the work will be done by contractors who are expected to hire locally.

MILITARYRoughly $112 million will be spent on the area’s five military installations, with Fort Carson and Peterson Air Force Base the biggest recipients.

Fort Carson will receive $50 million for energy, transportation, community support and operational facilities, said media relations chief Karen Connelly. A Pentagon breakdown showed $27.1 million for the post, but the list didn’t include road work and some energy-saving efforts that Fort Carson said are funded.

The energy allocation will improve the electrical distribution system, replace a sewer line and install more energy-efficient boilers. The post also will upgrade roads and parking lots and repair and improve facilities.

One of Fort Carson’s largest projects is a $12.5 million child development center. A contract will be awarded in September with opening set for early 2011, a Pentagon time line said.

Peterson gets an $11.5 million child development center, which begins construction in February and opens in August 2011. It will provide space for 250 children and increase the base child-care capacity by 60 percent, 21st Space Wing spokesman Lt. Jonathan Simmons said.

Peterson’s projects, which total roughly $30 million and have an average cost of $320,000, include work on roads, parking lots, buildings, bus shelters, utility lines and even $22,000 to repair the kennel that houses Air Force guard dogs.

Simmons said Peterson already is taking bids and hopes to have all contracts awarded by September 30.

Stimulus money will build an $18.3 million, 2-megawatt solar plant at the Air Force Academy and pay for $110,000 in energy conservation upgrades. The plant will cover up to 30 acres on the academy grounds and is a key part of a plan to shift the school’s power demands to renewable sources. The plant will be owned and run by Colorado Springs Utilities, and its electricity will flow to customers throughout the city.

Click here for a database of local military stimulus projects.

COUNTYEl Paso County will get roughly $12.9 million.

Deputy County Administrator Monnie Gore said the county will conduct energy audits of its facilities before deciding how to spend $1.9 million on energy conservation.

A $6 million bridge will be built on Highway 24 east of Falcon along with related drainage work on the Bennett Blue Gill Drainage Basin, which floods county roads and private property in heavy rains.

The state Transportation Department will handle the project, with the county paying $300,000 for easements.

“The beauty for us is rather than having to pay for the drainage work ourselves, which would have cost $3 million, we’re only paying $300,000,” county Public Services Manager Tim Wolken said. The project will get under way in late summer.

Sheriff Terry Maketa plans to apply for stimulus money through two grant programs.

The first is a three-year, $3.3 million grant from the Office of Community Oriented Policing that would enable him to restore 20 of the 23 people laid off early this year due to budget cuts. Maketa would restore six patrol officers, six jail deputies, five school resource officers, two federal task force officers and one DARE position.

“It should return us to the staff levels we were at last year,” he said.

No local match is required to obtain the grant, which is earmarked for restoring positions eliminated due to local economic circumstances or those anticipated to be eliminated due to budget cuts, he said. Maketa hopes the local economy recovers within three years so the county can pick up the tab thereafter.

The other grant, for $621,000 from the Justice Department, would replace Tasers, laptops and ammunition. It also would fund a jail paging system to better manage attorneys’ visits with inmates and software to allow filing and printing reports of minor crimes online.

Maketa expects both grants to come through this fall.

The Department of Human Services will get $185,168 to hire more people to process a growing number of food stamp applications. Recipients got an increase in benefits from the stimulus package starting April 1. DHS also will receive $887,367 for employment, housing, health or nutrition programs, a DHS spokesman said.

The Pikes Peak Workforce Center expects to receive $3.9 million for jobs programs.

CITYColorado Springs is poised to receive more than $73 million for a host of projects.

Nearly half – $35 million – is for the Woodmen Road widening project, freeing up money from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority sales tax for other transportation projects.

“You have to be able to go to bid prior to June 29 or else you lose the money,” said Rob Kidder, city roadway engineering manager.

“We’re in a panic mode over here. Woodmen is a huge, huge project for us.”

The city is also in line to get $10 million to help pay for a new transit hub downtown.

In addition, it is eligible to receive up to $3.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. The city is evaluating proposed projects, such as retrofitting existing government buildings and installing LED streetlights.

“The funds represent a great opportunity for cities to undertake projects that will create jobs and reduce a municipality’s energy costs while also reducing carbon emissions by cutting consumption,” Todd Hartman, a spokesman for the Governor’s Energy Office, said in an e-mail.

The airport received a $21.5 million grant to reconstruct taxiways and $3.5 million to upgrade a baggage screening system, Kidder said.

The city may be able to request more money in the future, he said.

“There is an outside chance that other states that are not able to commit the money to projects lose the money,” he said. “If other states can’t perform, then that money goes back to a pool.”

The Police Department is applying for funds to buy equipment and pay for staffing, said Lt. David Whitlock, a police spokesman. However, he was unable to provide specifics.

UTILITIESColorado Springs Utilities has applied for more than $163 million worth of projects, but they’re all pending, spokesman Steve Berry said.

The applications include $5.8 million for Fountain Creek watershed improvements, $65 million to transform a coal-fired energy plant to a clean-coal plant, and more than $80 million for energy efficiency rebates, renewable energy projects, smart grid technology and energy audits, he said.

“There’s a real big focus on the environment,” Berry said. “All of these projects, for the most part … have an environmental focus.”

SCHOOLSThe state will receive $487 million for K-12 education, but how the money will be allocated is unclear.

Stimulus breakdownMilitary:Fort Carson, $50 millionBuckley Air Force Base, $5.4 millionCheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, $5.1 millionPeterson Air Force Base, $30.2 millionAir Force Academy, $18.4 millionSchriever Air Force Base, $2.9 millionCounty:Highway 24 bridge/drainage, $6 millionEnergy conservation, $1.9 millionSheriff’s Office, $3.9 millionHuman Services Department, $1.1 millionPikes Peak Workforce Center, $3.9 millionCity: $48.6 millionColorado Springs Airport, $25 million

Riley Russell Photo by