Mar. 26--KULPMONT -- Information pertaining to exactly where federal stimulus money will go is scarce. Eighty community leaders from three counties gathered at Geisinger LIFE Center in Kulpmont to hear about the funds from state and federal legislative aids Wednesday evening. Many leaders still wonder what the money will fund and how they should apply to receive aid.

Projects that may be considered for funding should be "shovel ready" in 120 days, said Susan Mathias, of U.S. Rep. Christopher Carney's office. Though the term is not substantiated in the law or regulation, it refers to projects that lack funding, but have been designed, engineered and have clear environmental permitting and other requirements such as land acquisition, and are ready to proceed.

However, leaders from very small communities feel they are at a disadvantage for getting the funds because of a lack of personnel, such as grant writing specialists and engineers to get projects "shovel ready."

"The clock is ticking but we don't know where the money is going," said Northumberland County Commissioner Kurt Masser.

Municipalities barely surviving financially, such as Shamokin, don't have the funds to get their projects "shovel ready" in order to qualify for federal stimulus money.

Though millions of dollars have been allocated, specific destinations have yet to be determined.

As a result, community leaders are hesitant to tie up necessary funds for projects that may be denied funding when the final allocations are made. Some are worried they're not correctly filling out the necessary paperwork, or are missing documents altogether.

Some in attendance also asked about funding needed for infrastructure on projects that must move forward and can't wait. They were told to call the local legislative offices for help.

Unfortunately, the legislative representatives don't know exactly where the money will be allocated either.

"As far as the stimulus money, we are not in a position to say where the money is going," Wellington said. He said much of money will go to the Rural Utility Program. He gave an overview of the possible allocation for renewable energy and said some will go to the private sector, such as small businesses. While some of the funds are grants, more are loans at a 4 1/2 percent, over 40 years, he explained.

"We don't even know what projects will be coming down the pike," Wellington said.

David Washburn said some funds will be funneled through the state Department of Environmental Protection. Others will be through the Community Development Block Grant, Weatherization, or Community Services Block Grant programs.