AGENDA #2
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Manager’s Recommended 2002-2017 Capital Improvements Program
DATE: July 26, 2002
Attached is a resolution that would adopt the 2002-2017 Capital Improvements Program, including a capital allocation of $478,000 for fiscal year 2002-03. This allocation is included in the Budget Ordinance recommended in Agenda #1.
The program is based on the fiscally constrained Capital Improvements Program recommended to Council on April 22, and does not include potential additions discussed with the Council on June 12, 2002. Legislative action to secure additional revenues from franchise and beer and wine taxes has not occurred to date.
Background
The 2002-2017 Capital Improvements Program is a plan for addressing the Town’s capital facilities needs over the next 15 years based on a set of priorities (please see Attachment 1) and anticipated availability of funding. The program also lists needs for which funding has not been identified.
The development of the Capital Improvements Program was based on information from a variety of sources, including the August 2000 Facilities Condition Assessment, special studies, and the Comprehensive Plan, as well as feedback from the Council, citizens, department heads and staff.
Over the 15-year scope, the Program emphasizes maintenance projects at Town facilities, with the goal of addressing problems as they arise in order to avoid more costly repairs in the future. The Facility Condition Assessment served as the basis for scheduling the maintenance-related projects, including anticipated needs, throughout the 15-year period covered by the Capital Improvements Program.
The Capital Improvements Program is based on the expected availability of capital improvements funding, money from the 1996 bond issues, and other sources, such as the Federal Community Development Block Grant program. The program does not include the State budget for road projects funded by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Also excluded are budgets for transit service, the school system, the Orange Water and Sewer Authority, and Orange County’s solid waste management program.
PROCESS
The development of the 2002-2017 Capital Improvements Program proposal began in the fall of 2001 with submissions of funding requests from various Town departments. Key dates in the process include:
· On January 29, 2002, the Council held its first public forum on the budget and capital program needs, receiving comments from the public and representatives from Town advisory boards.
· On March 26, 2002, the Council received the Preliminary Report on the 2002-2017 Capital Improvements Program. The Report was subsequently forwarded to Town advisory boards for comment.
· On April 22, 2002, the Council received the Manager’s Recommended Capital Improvements Program and advisory board comments on the Preliminary Report.
· On May 8, 2002, the Council held a public hearing to receive citizen comments on the Recommended Capital Improvements Program.
· In a June 12, 2002 work session, the Council reviewed options for increasing allocations to the Manager’s Recommended Capital Improvements Program for 2002-03 in the event the State Legislature acted to preclude the withholding of franchise and beer and wine tax revenues.
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
The 2002-2017 Capital Improvements Program features:
· A budget for spending the Town’s capital funds in fiscal year 2002-2003 as outlined in the attached resolution, and projected expenditures through 2016-17.
· Schedules for projects to be funded with sources other than the capital fund, including the 1996 bond issues, State Transportation-Direct Allocation funding, and Federal Community Development Block Grant funding.
PROGRAM SUMMARY
· For fiscal year 2002-2003, $478,000 from the capital fund is provided for 7 projects, including one year of debt service payments for three installment-financing projects.
· Funding proposed for capital projects, from all funding sources, over the 15-year period amounts to more than $50 million. Funding sources for these projects include the capital improvements fund, bonds, grants, and other sources of funding such as gifts or special purpose funds.
· The development of a new Public Works facility prior to the expiration of the lease at the current site on Airport Road in 2006 will affect the Capital Improvements Program budget throughout the 15-year scope of the program. Early expenditures related to the project include site acquisition, engineering and design. Construction of the facility will cost an estimated $15 million, which has been included in the Capital Improvements Program as annual debt payments beginning in 2006-07.
· The development of a Transit facility, also required due to the lease expiration at the Airport Road facility, is to be funded using mostly Federal sources that will require some Town matching funds.
· Bond funds, including funding from County bond issues, are earmarked for the construction of an Aquatics Center and the Southern Community Park.
· Ten-year installment debt projects for renovations/repairs at the following facilities are included in the 2002-17 Capital Improvements Program: Fire Station Number 2, Town Hall, InterFaith Council Shelter, Post Office/Courthouse, the Chapel Hill Museum, Bolinwood Bridge, Hargraves Community Center/A.D. Clark Pool, the Community Center off Estes Drive, the Library and tennis courts.
· Emergency generators for Town Hall and the Police Department are to be purchased using five-year installment debt.
Two projects at the Library included under “Other Sources” in the Manager’s Recommended Capital Improvements Program have been moved to the unfunded list (see Reference Numbers 79 and 85 in Table 4) due to Council and Library Board of Trustees concerns about the proposed funding source. The projects originally called for using Library Gift Funds to pay for a new phone system and work on the Library’s HVAC system. These projects are included in the list of additional projects to be funded should the state-collected reserve become available.
RECOMMENDATION
Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council approve the recommended 15 year capital program, as shown in the attached three tables, and adopt the attached resolution approving the 2002-2003 Capital Improvements Program funding amounts for new appropriations.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Priorities for Selecting Capital Improvement Projects (p. 5).
2. Capital Repair and Maintenance Fund and Debt Financed Projects (Table 1) (p. 6).
3. Comparison of Identified Needs to Scheduled Funding (Table 1a and 1b) (p. 7).
4. Bonds (Table 2) (p. 9).
5. Other Sources (Table 3) (p. 10).
6. Unfunded Projects (Table 4) (p. 11).
A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 2002-2017 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM (2002-07-26/R-1)
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby approves the Manager’s Recommended 2002-2017 Capital Improvements Program as described in the memorandum dated July 26, 2002 with the following projects to be funded by the $478,000 allocated for the capital improvements fund in the Operating Budget ordinance for 2002-2003:
|
Project |
Appropriation: 2002-2003 |
|
Municipal Operations Site Acquisition Phase I (Annual Payment) |
131,000 |
|
InterFaith Council Shelter: Capital Repairs (Installment Debt Payment) |
52,000 |
|
Museum Roof Repairs (Installment Debt Payment) |
9,000 |
|
Infrared Rescue Cameras (Annual Payment) |
28,000 |
|
Update Townwide Aerial Photography (Annual Payment on Contract) |
40,000 |
|
Hargraves/A.D. Clark: Capital Repairs (Installment Debt Payment) |
180,000 |
|
Meadowmont School Gym Payment to Schools |
38,000 |
|
Total |
478,000 |
This the 26th day of July, 2002.
PRIORITIES FOR SELECTING CIP PROJECTS
Priority 1: Projects that have a Council mandate.
Priority 2: Projects that the Town has a legal requirement to perform or complete.
Priority 3: Projects for which the Town has a binding contractual agreement.
Priority 4: Projects that would repair or maintain existing Town facilities/infrastructure above and beyond ordinary maintenance.
Priority 5: Projects involving public safety.
Priority 6: Projects that are part of an adopted master plan.
Priority 7: Other projects.