Funding Delayed on Some State Projects

              Funding delayed on some state projects
By JOHN M. HILL
Gannett News Service
BATON ROUGE - The proposed $4
million for the city of Shreveport to
construct a waste heat recovery system
at the city incinerator, with the heat to
be piped to the nearby LSU Medical
Center, would get only $305,000 in plan-ning
funds during the 1981-1982 fiscal
year under Gov. David Treen's addi-tions
to the state construction budget.
The balance of $3.8 million for the
incinerator project will not be funded
until the following year, under the pro-posed
Treen amendments.
The governor's amendments include
a cash appropriation of $1.8 million to
help renovate the Strand Threatre in
Shreveport, according to the Division of
Administration.
Many of Treen's proposed $215
million of additions to the state's con-struction
budget will not be fully funded
during the next year.
Some projects will receive only plan-ning
funds; others will receive just
start-up money.
Treen released a list of projects
Saturday without saying how or when
they will be funded. He followed up this
morning with official proposed amend-ments
to the construction budget bill
before the House Ways and Means Com-mittee.
The amendments presented Monday
include only those projects which will
be funded through the sale of state
bonds during the 1981-1982 fiscal year.
Many of the projects are divided
between high-priority bonds, which are
likely to be sold this year, and lowest-priority
bonds, which definitely will not
be.
Commissioner of Administration E.
L. "Bubba" Henry said the reason for
the split funding is that many of the
projects will need only planning funds
during the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Other projects will not go out for
construction bids until late during 1981
and 1982 and therefore only a portion of
the construction funds will be needed
during the fiscal year which ends June
30,1982
The projects will be fully funded
during the following fiscal year, Henry
said.
The House committee did not act on
any of the Treen amendments Monday.
The panel will continue discussing the
amendments today. Rep. John Alario,
D-Westwego, said he hopes his commit-tee
will be able to complete work on the
construction budget by Tuesday night.
The Ways and Means Committee will
consider only the bond portion of the
construction budget. After the panel
finishes adding projects to be financed
through bond sales, the bill must go to
the House Appropriations Committee
for cash additions.
By law, the construction budget must
be voted on by the full House by next
week, giving the Senate at least four
weeks to deliberate the bill.
Alario was critical of Treen and his
Division of Administration for waiting
so late to deliver to his committee the
governor's proposed additions to the
construction budget.
"This whole process should have been
done earlier," said Alario. "I don't think
the committee can make a really in-telligent
decision in this length of time."
Other area projects Treen is recom-mending
to be funded through the sale
of bonds and the amount to be funded
during the next year include the follow-ing:
• $6.7 million for construction of a
new Northwestern School of Nursing in
Shreveport, $3.3 million in bonds to be
funded during the next year and $3.4
million in bonds to be funded the follow-ing
year.
• $4.5 million for a new forestry,
wildlife and plant science complex at
Louisiana Tech University, Ruston,
with $2.5 million to be spent during the
next year and $2 million the following
year.
• $2.8 million for repairs to
Louisiana Tech's Howard Auditorium,
full funding next year.
• $3.2 million for a new Lincoln
Parish jail, full funding.
• $300,000 for improvements at Fort
St. John the Baptiste State.
• $200,000 for improvements at Los
Adaes State Commemorative Area,
Natchitoches, full funding.
• $310,000 for a new presidential
residence at Grambling State Universi-ty,
full funding to add to $40,000 already
spent.
The governor is proposing many area
projects for cash funding during the
next year. It is expected these projects
will be fully funded during the
1981-1982 fiscal year.
The Division of Administration said
the proposed new cash projects include
the following:
• $2.9 million for improvements to
the J-wing of LSU Medical Center,
Shreveport.
• $500,000 to pay half the cost of a
solid waste transfer facility in Bossier
Parish.
• $960,000 for improvements to Joe
Ailet Stadium, Louisiana Tech.
• $700,000 for a new dam, lock and
spillway at Lake Bistineau State Park,
Bienville Parish.