Hurlburt Field growing with help from stimulus package Published June 30, 2009 By 2nd Lt. Mark Lazane 1st Special Operations WIng Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Construction has begun on several projects awarded to local contractors with money from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, also known as the stimulus bill. The federal government allotted more than $6 million for various projects on Hurlburt Field. The ARRA money allows the 1st Special Operations Contracting Squadron to immediately award projects that had been in the final stages of planning and were awaiting the funds necessary to pay the contractor. "Basically, the projects that were selected were picked based on the quickness of the award," said 1st Lt. Dan Wilcoxen, 1st SOCES programs flight deputy chief. "If the projects were close to being 100 percent designed or if the contract called for a set amount of specific work, such as painting, the money was immediately attached to that project. The basic principle was to select projects that would quickly inject money into local businesses." Dispersal of the stimulus money was a joint effort between 1st SOCES, who was responsible for developing a list of projects that met the stimulus criteria, and 1st SOCONS, who organized the assurance of payment to the bid winners. The projects vary widely in size and scope. The projects chosen were mostly projects that have been in the works for some time, Lt. Wilcoxen said. "The only reason the projects were ready to award when the ARRA funds came through was because we had planned to execute them in the near future, and they were already prepping and designing the projects toward that end," he said. All projects under consideration are put on a time schedule established by the Hurlburt Facility Working Group. The group is responsible for deciding the fiscal year prioritization of projects based on the needs of the wing, tenant units and the Air Force. Another factor dictating the quickness of the bid approval is the short timeframe in which the 1st SOW must spend the money. A stipulation for receiving the stimulus money is that all the ARRA funds must be awarded by Sept. 30, the close of the current fiscal year. "If the ARRA funds had dropped say, in 2011, we would most likely have a completely different list of projects based on what we would be prepping to execute that specific year," Lt. Wilcoxen said. In early spring, the wing was given a dollar figure from Air Force Special Operations Command by which to draft a project list. Following the completion of the list, the contracting squadron issued an "authority to advertise," which is an assurance that the money exists to seek bids for projects. Contracting then took the bids to the street, acquiring bids from contractors. Once the dollar amount was agreed upon, AFSOC released the money to pay the contractors. All but two of the ARRA awards have been given out, and many projects have already began. "We usually go through this kind of drill toward the end of the year in preparation for any additional end-of-year money," said Lt. Wilcoxen. "But with the ARRA process occurring in early 2009, we have basically been in last-quarter mode all year. "The pressure has been high on the civil engineers and contracting. They are performing above and beyond expectations despite having far less manning than other bases with similar construction work load." Editors note: Some of the projects slated for completion using ARRA funds include: · A roof repair for the 720th Special Tactics Training Squadron Building · A roof repair for the REDHORSE Squadron compound · Installing new restricted area signage on the flight line · Expanding the parking lot at the Visitor's Center outside the main gate · Repairing/Renovating the Reef Dining Facility · Constructing a new warehouse for the Communications Squadron · Realigning O'Neil Ave and installing traffic lights · Repairing/Renovating the AFOSI Detachment · Replacing the perimeter fence at Commando Village · Replacing the sanitary sewer system on the East side of the base · Repairing the 6th SOS hangar doors