Dyess awards contracts from stimulus recovery money

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joel Mease
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Dyess officials have awarded more than $10 million in stimulus recovery money recently to local contractors in projects designed to repair facilities on the base. The local contracts were all given to small businesses and will create jobs while adding money into the local economy. 

The 7th Bomb Wing Contracting Squadron issued its largest project to a locally owned business to repair areas on the airfield. The contract is worth more than $6 million and will allow the company to increase their employee size. 

"We were told without this money this locally owned business would have possibly had to let go as many as seven employees," said Ronald Miller, 7th CONS Infrastructure Flight chief. "Not only were they able to save those jobs, but now they are looking to increase their workforce by as many as 10 - 15 people." 

Another project designed to replace the gas mains on Dyess is worth as much as $1.2 million may have saved eight jobs and now possibly hire two more employees. 

Besides having the contractors pull from the local labor pool for more jobs, it will have a trickledown effect in the local economy. 

"Most of the materials needed will come from Abilene area businesses," Mr. Miller said. "So the $10 million spent on the contracts not only are being spent on locally based businesses, but when they have to go out to buy things like concrete to do the job they will be spending that money at other local businesses. It should be a boon on the local economy." 

Not only has Dyess been able to spend the money in a way to help small businesses, but it has been among the fastest in the Department of Defense to spend the money. 

"We prepositioned ourselves earlier in the year for the possibility Dyess might receive some of the stimulus money," Mr. Miller said. "We received the money last week and the very next day we awarded the contracts because we had already had requirement contracts pre-established. Dyess was one of the first in Air Combat Command to award the money." 

The time it would take normally to award the projects could take anywhere from 30-60 days, but because Dyess prepositioned itself the process was narrowed down to just over a week, Mr. Miller said. 

While Dyess has already awarded these stimulus projects, more are still slated to be awarded. Three other projects at the end of June worth more than $1 million to work on energy projects will be awarded. 

"If any other money becomes available, we have postured ourselves to be ready to fund extra projects," Mr. Miller said. "We wouldn't have been able to coordinate these projects this quickly without the support of 7th CES and Team Dyess. It's taken a team effort to make this happen."