An early look at the proposed Capital Improvements Program and Plan for the next 10 years would see the city spend 8 percent less on capital projects than in the current plan.

City Finance Director Tealen Hansen presented the Planning Commission with the recommendations that came out of the CIP Subcommittee. If adopted by the Planning Commission and City Council, the money for the first year of the CIP would be included in the proposed city budget.

The first year of the proposed CIP calls for $44.1 million in general government spending, including about $19.7 million for transportation, $7.6 million for public buildings and facilities, $7.4 million in public safety, $4.1 million for parks and recreation, $3.6 million for public schools and $1.7 million for village and neighborhood initiatives.

More than half of the $44.1 million would come from bond revenue, with the rest coming from the general fund, along with state, federal or other funding sources.

The proposed CIP calls for $883.9 million to be spent from fiscal years 2021 through 2030, which is down from the current $963.6 million. Over the next five years, spending would also drop by 8 percent.

The proposed CIP focuses heavily in the first five years on infrastructure projects such as:

• Road and intersection improvements
• New library construction
• School facility and city building repairs
• A new addition to Northern Shores Elementary School
• A new College Drive fire station to serve the Harbour View/northern Suffolk area
• New fire and rescue vehicles
• Olde Towne Master Drainage improvements
• Replacement of fleet management facility, with money to come from the Fleet Fund
• Water source development and water treatment plant expansion, water distribution and transmission system expansion and water system upgrades, and sanitary sewer system upgrades and sanitary sewer extensions, with money to come from the Public Utility Fund.
• Village and neighborhood improvements in Lloyd Place, Rosemont and other neighborhoods
• Downtown Master Plan initiatives such as Main Street streetscape, a festival/events venue and market hall, Phoenix Bank block redevelopment, a downtown wayfinding system and gateway improvements

Hansen said city staff would work on edits to the CIP to have ready for the commission to potentially adopt at its Jan. 21 meeting. At that point, it would be forwarded to City Council for consideration at its Feb. 5 meeting.