City Council to take up capital improvements
Published 9:38 pm Monday, February 4, 2019
Suffolk’s proposed $963.6 million Capital Improvements Program and Plan will be on the agenda when City Council meets Wednesday.
The council will discuss the plan in its work session, and will propose a Feb. 20 public hearing on it. This follows the Planning Commission’s unanimous approval of the plan at its Jan. 15 meeting.
The proposed plan, which provides a 10-year outline for city spending on major capital projects, is renewed yearly, and has increased by $66.1 million from last year.
The first five years of the proposed CIP would cost $316.4 million, with almost half of the general government spending on transportation projects. The rest of the money is divided between public schools, public buildings and facilities, public safety, parks and recreation and village and neighborhood improvements.
The proposed spending in the first five years of the plan is an 11-percent increase versus last year’s adopted CIP, with the first year of general government spending totaling $50.8 million in the six categories. Almost half of that amount would be paid for through state and federal grants.
Among the highest-cost items in the proposed CIP:
- A new central library
- Replacing John F. Kennedy Middle School
- Large roadway projects
Suffolk Public Schools, which submits its own Capital Improvements Plan, also included a replacement for John F. Kennedy Middle, with $10 million slated for the fifth year of the plan and another $35 million planned in later years.
Other proposed projects include adding 12 classrooms to address overcrowding at Northern Shores Elementary School, adding two new fire stations in the city and roadway improvements on Holland Road, intersection work at Nansemond Parkway and Bennetts Pasture Road, Route 17 and Crittenden Road and Pitchkettle Road improvements.
Wednesday’s council work session begins at 4 p.m., and its regular session begins at 7 p.m. The meetings take place at City Hall, 442 W. Washington St.
View the 2019-2028 CIP: https://bit.ly/2G89F5b
View the proposed 2020-2029 CIP: https://bit.ly/2D7F7wj