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Steamboat Springs — Routt County received $78 per capita thanks to the economic recovery funds from the federal government, but Routt County commissioners said that money may not be immediately apparent to most residents.

According to the independent journalism Web site ProPublica.org, Routt County has been directly allocated $1.8 million. More than $1.6 million of that came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with the remainder from the U.S. Department of Education and the Small Business Administration.

Statewide, recovery money averaged $194 per person.

According to the Governor's Economic Recovery Team, the total amount of money coming to Routt County as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is more than $7 million.

"The point is, a lot of stimulus money has hit this county," Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak said.

Commissioner Doug Monger said he has been skeptical of the recovery money because "it's hard to pinpoint where it came from and where it's going," but he said he was happy with the program bringing money to Routt County residents.

Tracking the money has been a full-time job for Myung Oak Kim, who works with the Governor's Economic Recovery Team.

Kim said because the money does not go directly to the governor or any other legislative body, but is instead distributed from federal agencies directly to organizations, following each of the projects is a daunting task.

"The issue with the Recovery Act is how complicated it is," she said. "It is true that it's difficult for an individual or an agency to get a clear grasp of how all the money is being spent without doing a lot of work. :We try to make that easier for everybody."

Kim also works with the Governor's Economic Recovery Accountability Board, a 14-member volunteer board that oversees how the stimulus money is being spent in Colorado. The board has the authority to ask Gov. Bill Ritter to step in if they find money has been misspent, but so far that has not happened, Kim said. The board travels across the state to meet with local officials and citizens, and members will visit Steamboat Springs on Sept. 21 and 22. The board will hold a formal meeting at 1 p.m. Sept. 22 at Centennial Hall. A less formal question-and-answer session with the public during that visit will be announced closer to the visit date.

Kim said the meetings are open to the public, and during the question-and-answer period the public may request more information about applying for specific recovery programs or qualifying for other types of funds. She said most projects are through "safety net programs" but also can apply to people who do not use those programs through small-business loans and other incentives.

Kim said the money coming to Colorado is a lot more than the individual programs that can be identified or mapped individually, because of tax breaks and overall programs that can affect people state- and nationwide.

The Colorado Recovery Web site, at www.colorado.gov/recovery, states that "Colorado is expected to receive an estimated $3 billion in direct funding, benefits and services from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This estimate does not include tax relief for individuals and businesses, certain federal appropriations or competitive grants. : All told, Colorado could receive more than $7 billion in direct funding and tax relief, plus funding that flows to federal research labs and other agencies with operations in Colorado."

Local recipients

One of the largest single recipients of stimulus funds in Routt County identified by ProPublica is the Sierra Nevada Forestry Service. The California-based firm received $850,425 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a fire management contract.

Other funds went to two small businesses that were unable to obtain financing in the private credit market, to single family housing loans and to the local school districts.

Routt County Human Services Director Vickie Clark said money her department received was particularly helpful for child care services because child care funds were overspent by $84,000 last year. Under the department of human services, child support enforcement received $14,273, child welfare received $2,684, the child care assistance program received $31,773, a community service block grant received $26,159, and First Impressions of Routt County received $34,790.

The money earmarked to Routt County through the recovery act is neither a grant nor a loan, but an unexpected budget boost, Clark said.

First Impressions Early Childhood Manager Stephanie Martin said the money to her agency will be used for classes and program development.

"We are putting the funds toward increasing parent education opportunities and communitywide professional development," she said. "With the parent education opportunities, we will be able to offer more parent classes empowering parents to advocate for what's in the best interest of their child, such as healthy development and school readiness, and give them the skills they need to be the best parent they can be."

In professional development efforts, Martin said, the group will offer classes for all childhood professionals in Routt County to teach an instructional model focusing on social and emotional development.

Weatherization

Funds also will be coming into the county through other programs, such as the weatherization grant through the Governor's Energy Office.

In a letter to Stahoviak, Weatherization Director Douglas Karl wrote that the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments was awarded $2.22 million in recovery funds to provide weatherization services. That group includes Moffat, Routt, Jackson, Grand, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Eagle, Summit, Clear Creek, Lake, Park and Chaffee counties.

Stahoviak said it's important that residents know they can apply for insulation, furnace replacement, energy audits and other services through the program. Residents qualify if they have qualified for other low-income services such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Medicaid, or if the annual household income for a family of four is $44,100 or less.

Renters in single-family, multi-family and mobile homes are also eligible for the program. For details, visit www.colo

rado.gov/energy and follow the "Residential Buildings" link, then look at "Income-based Services."