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A Frederick County transportation official said late last month that the distribution of transportation funds from the president's economic stimulus plan is "acceptable."

The Maryland Department of Transportation received $431 million from President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $62 million of which will go to counties.

Frederick County will receive $3.6 million for road improvements, according to Robert Shen, engineering manager with the county's Office of Transportation Engineering.

County officials are now identifying what projects qualify for the money, said Alan Hudak, director of Frederick County's Division of Public Works. The list must be submitted to the state for approval by Aug. 17.

Hudak said his department is not ready to release the projects under consideration.

Since the projects must be immediately ready for construction, the Department of Transportation wants projects such as road resurfacing to make up a vast majority of the eligible projects.

The money may only go toward the construction portion of the project, Shen said. The county will need to provide its own funding to cover design, right-of-way land acquisition, utility relocation, inspection and certification.

Each road project must be approved by the State Highway Administration, with a memorandum of understanding signed by both the state and county.

Under the agreement, state and county officials must agree that the road project will promote the safety, health and general welfare of residents.

Not all the commissioners welcome the stimulus money.

Commissioner John "Lennie" Thompson Jr. (R) made a motion at the April 30 meeting to decline the money and give it back to the federal government to be used to bring down the federal deficit.

That motion failed.

Commissioner Charles A. Jenkins (R) said though he is "certainly not a proponent of [Obama's] spending," he welcomes the opportunity to improve some of the roads in the county.

E-mail Sherry Greenfield at sgreenfield@gazette.net.