Shoveling the dough

A dispatch from the shovel-ready front: On its list of possible projects for President Obama's stimulus bill, Gary (them again!) included plans for a 350-slip marina that would cost $19 million and result in the creation of 35 jobs. Some of the local money the project, which has been untapped for 16 years, is controlled by a group called the Lake Michigan Marina Development Commission, which the state stopped funding years ago. Opines the Gary Post-Tribune:

Nonetheless, the decision to give a $1.2 million contract to W.F. Baird & Associates for final design work on the first phase of a marina with 147 slips and a harbor-front promenade is difficult to comprehend.

[. . .]

 The economy is in the full throes of a recession, and folks aren't even buying cars, much less boats. Gary officials need to explain why they've sat on the money for so long and now suddenly are convinced the time is right for a marina.

Hey, what's to explain? There is money to spend. That will stimulate the economy. Build it, and they will boat!