While children put the finishing touches on their lists for Santa Claus, public agencies and municipalities here say they are busily preparing to propose "shovel-ready" projects in response to President-elect Barack Obama's plans for the U.S. government to create jobs and fund infrastructure projects.

An agenda posted on Obama's transition Web site says the new administration hopes to "make $25 billion immediately available in a Jobs and Growth Fund to help ensure that in-progress and fast-tracked infrastructure projects are not sidelined, and to ensure that schools can meet their energy costs and undertake key repairs starting this fall."

Jeff Selle, manager of governmental affairs for the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, says recent reports in the Wall Street Journal suggest the figure being considered by Obama's team now is closer to $600 billion in 2009, including investments in school repairs, technology, and middle-class tax cuts, with another $300 billion to $600 billion possible in 2010.

Based on the allocations to transportation projects outlined in a $61 billion economic stimulus bill that's making its way through Congress, about $110 million of the package could go directly to SRTC, a transportation planning organization, for distribution, Selle says. Jurisdictions also could seek a portion of $2.24 billion that could go to the state, he says.

"Right now everybody's compiling lists," Selle says. He says a lot of jurisdictions are stepping up planning and design work on projects that they think could be made ready in time to receive funding.

SRTC expects to have a list of possible projects ready before Christmas to submit to the Washington state Department of Transportation and the state Office of Financial Management, Selle says.

"Engineering firms right now are pushing their clients to get projects shovel ready. A lot of people are taking big risks now investing in getting projects ready," Selle says.

The city of Spokane is seeking contract engineering and construction management services to help it get projects ready for the Obama infrastructure program, says Dave Mandyke, Spokane's director of public works and utilities. He says the city is not limiting itself to road projects.

"We have things like the Fish Lake Trail, an operations complex to the tune of some $250 million, street projects at just about every price point, and the Iron Bridge project," among others, Mandyke says. The Iron Bridge project is to convert a former rail bridge east of downtown for use by pedestrians and bicyclists.

One of the main challenges in preparing such projects is that no one knows yet what the eligibility parameters would be for infrastructure, Mandyke says.

He says one criteria the city is imposing on itself is that it won't propose projects that already are funded.

"We are looking at things we otherwise wouldn't build" to truly create a stimulus, Mandyke says. He says the city also is avoiding projects with possible environmental permitting issues or that require right-of-way acquisition.

It's not just municipalities that are preparing to propose projects.

A list of possible infrastructure projects on a recent agenda for the Washington state Board for Community and Technical Colleges lists $249 million in capital projects that could be bid by April, including about $107 million in projects at Community Colleges of Spokane.

Chad Coles, a contract engineer for Spokane County, says talk of an infrastructure stimulus began around the time of the election.

"We have had inquiries from funding authorities," including the state DOT, the Washington Association of Counties, and SRTC, among others. "We have submitted a list of projects that we could get on the ground by June 30," Coles says.

Coles says major projects the county is considering as part of such a proposal include phases two through four of the planned Bigelow Gulch Road reconstruction, reconstruction of Farwell Road to Market Street where the North Spokane Corridor is being built, a number of bridge replacements, and repaving projects.

Altogether, the preliminary list includes more than $100 million in work.

DOT spokesman Al Gilson says the agency is still waiting to see what the parameters of the program will be. "We're all in the same boat, trying to determine exactly what the criteria will be," he says.

Selle and Gilson say some of the projects that likely will be proposed include widening Interstate 90 between Sullivan Road and Barker Road and further work on the North-Spokane Corridor.

"The entire Bridging the Valley project is all drawn up and designed," Selle says. In that project, a series of bridges would separate car traffic from train traffic in a 42-mile corridor between Spokane and Athol, Idaho.

In Idaho, Selle says the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization is considering possible projects in Rathdrum and on Pleasant View Road, among other places.

SRTC has meetings planned this week with representatives from Greater Spokane Incorporated and Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area government jurisdictions to discuss possible criteria for vetting such projects. It also has invited elected officials to attend its board meeting this Friday at the Spokane County Fairgrounds to discuss what projects might be put forward.

Selle says that the city of Spokane, is "dusting off" an infrastructure report that Taylor Engineering Inc. had prepared for it earlier.

SRTC wants to put together some strong criteria to get the best bang for the buck, Selle says. "There's an inherent danger of spending that money frivolously for the short-term job impact," he says.

How to get contracts awarded within 180 days to cover all of the money a jurisdiction is awarded could be an issue, Selle says. "That's a lot of money and there are only so many contractors," he says.

Selle says SRTC hopes to see a lot of long-term benefits from the infrastructure that can be built with the stimulus money. For example, he says, "If you build a rail line, then you create land-use opportunities along it."

Says Gilson, "We want to build projects that are going to help create jobs."