03/19/2009 - Elkhart mayor to governor: Send stimulus cash fast (Associated Press)

Elkhart mayor to governor: Send stimulus cash fast

By Deanna Martin, Associated Press Writer

INDIANAPOLIS - The mayor of beleaguered Elkhart had a simple message for Gov. Mitch Daniels Wednesday: Send us stimulus money, and send it fast.

Mayor Dick Moore hopes federal economic stimulus cash can revive the northern Indiana city, which has been hit hard by the collapse of the recreational vehicle industry and is struggling with an unemployment rate of nearly 20 percent.

Moore's meeting with Daniels on Wednesday was the latest in the mayor's string of attempts to bring home help. He's talked with members of Congress, hired a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and created a local stimulus committee. And he's spoken with President Barack Obama, who visited Elkhart last month to promote the stimulus plan.

"We can't leave any stone unturned," Moore told The Associated Press in the Statehouse atrium as he waited to talk with Daniels.

Moore said he left the 40-minute meeting feeling as though Daniels understood the city's plight.

"If you look at where the greatest need is in the United States of America, the city of Elkhart, Indiana, should be on top of the list," Moore said. "That's not a title we're very proud of, but it is reality."

Daniels characterized the meeting as a "very good talk."

"The mayor does his homework and his team has its act together," Daniels said. "Because our efforts always prioritize regions of greatest need, Elkhart right now is at the top of all our lists: water treatment, transportation, worker retraining, economic development -- everything."

Both Daniels, a Republican, and Moore, a Democrat, hope economic stimulus money will start flowing quickly.

State officials are still determining exactly how all the money will be spent, but Moore is ready with his list of projects that can be started within the next 180 days. The projects total more than $92 million and would create more than 2,000 jobs, Moore's office said.

Moore wants the money spent where it's needed most. That means Elkhart, a city of 52,000 that has become the epicenter of the state's unemployment problem.

The city's jobless rate jumped to 19.2 percent in January -- nearly triple the rate from the same time last year. Lines often stretch out the door at local unemployment offices, which have extended hours to accommodate the flood of people looking for work and filing benefit claims.

The relief agency Feed the Children last week distributed $2.1 million in food and personal care products in Elkhart, which bills itself as the "city with a heart." Hundreds of people waited in cars to collect donations, enough to sustain more than 5,000 families for a week.

Moore said his city is working hard to keep its head up, despite ongoing layoffs at RV plants and other companies.

"When you come to Elkhart, you'd see a pretty darn decent attitude in the people for what we're going through," Moore said. "But an economic downturn like this takes everybody down a little. Even if you've got a job, you're not feeling really great."