The city of Kenosha is en route to receive about $2.4 million in federal transit money, the majority of which will go toward five new buses.

Gov. Jim Doyle announced the city’s recommended portion of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Tuesday at the Kenosha Area Transit building, 4303 39th Ave., as city and county officials watched.

The majority of the city’s share will go toward to replacing older buses with new 35-foot long buses. The five new vehicles are expected to cost $1.8 million and operate on clean diesel fuel, which is about 40 percent more fuel-efficient than regular diesel fuel.

“People can get where they need to in much greater comfort,” Doyle said.

Len Brandrup, director of Kenosha Area Transit, said the buses should arrive sometime next year.

“These are capital items that we would not have been able to afford if these stimulus items were not there,” Brandrup said.

Funding announced Tuesday will also provide security cameras for the new buses for $143,500. The city will also receive $229,000 for a plow truck, roof snow guards and snow removal equipment for the transit department and $125,000 for a new radio tower and repeater to provide for better communication between the buses and transit dispatchers.

These provisions are part of addressing current needs and looking to future, Doyle said.

“We have been given an opportunity, and it’s important we do things right,” Doyle said. “We have to make sure we’re focused on getting people back to work and investing in projects with long-term value.

“The fact is that we have this stimulus money, and this is what is needed in Kenosha.”

The Kenosha County Transit System is also slated to receive $248,900 through the non-urban portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Those funds will provide for a bus, measuring less than 30 feet in length, for $49,000, and a handicapped-accessible van for $34,500. Additional funds would go toward related software, equipment and surveillance for the system.

County Executive Jim Kreuser said the programs would assist all of the county’s residents.

“Whenever one area gets this stimulus money, it helps all of the area,” Kreuser said.

Doyle said he believes Tuesday’s announcement would not be the last on federal funding for Kenosha.

“This is a good start, and there is more help to come,” Doyle said.

Brandrup and Karl Ostby, chairman of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority, both issued statements on Tuesday applauding Tuesday’s announcement, but also urging the need for long-term funding for area transit.

Kenosha and other small urban transit systems, with between 50,000 and 200,000 residents, are now required to submit their application for these projects and have them certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Kenosha County and non-urbanized systems require approval from the state’s Joint Committee on Finance, and the state Department of Transportation will submit those applications to the federal government.

Wisconsin is projected to receive about $34.5 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.