Olympia's Community Plan and Development Principal Planner Joyce Phillips presented the preliminary Capital Facilities Plan (CFP), which outlines the financial blueprint for the city’s infrastructure projects for 2024 through 2029 with a total price tag of $260.7 million.
The CFP is a component of the city’s comprehensive plan. The CFP projects came from the city’s master plans, including transportation, utilities, parks, arts and recreation.
Phillips shared an illustration of the projected funding requirements for each department from 2024 to 2029. She said the visual presentation helps the city gauges the anticipated funding needs for each year.
Phillips noted significant variations, such as the proposed $80 million for 2026 compared to $25 million for 2027. "We need to be prepared to understand and address those variations in the annual budgeting process."
At the Planning Commission meeting on Monday, Phillips focused the discussion on the projects for the year 2024, which has a total funding request of $46.7 million. "We especially focus on the first year of the CFP because once adopted, that first year becomes the capital budget for the city."
The projects for the year 2024 have a total budget of $46.7 million. Most funds will go to parks, arts and recreation, transportation, and wastewater.
According to Phillips, they have identified 14 different funding sources that will be used to fund these improvements.
However, Phillips added, most sources are limited by law or the city on how the funds can be used. For example, the Transportation Benefit District cannot be used to build parks, and parks money cannot be used to build streets.
Most funding comprises state grants, impact fees, and funds from the Olympia Metropolitan Parks District (OMPD). Some of the projects include:
Phillips noted that some projects listed in the CFP may or may not begin construction in the year they are mentioned because many of these developments required funding over multiple years to cover their costs, especially those large-scale projects like transportation improvements.
Phillips mentioned the Fones Road project, which proposed funding is approximately $3.1 million in 2024 but will cost much more than that to construct.
Other projects under transportation include:
General capital facilities mainly focus on capital improvements for city-owned buildings. This year, they would be an update on assessing the buildings' conditions to determine the necessary investments in significant infrastructure investments.
Phillips commented that funding for general capital facilities is often challenging due to lacking a dedicated funding source. She said they would utilize alternative financing methods and transfer from Cable TV Tax to address this issue.
Some projects include:
The city has substantial investments lined up for the next six years for the department, including acquiring new or replacement fire apparatus for the existing fire stations and adding a new fire station.
For 2024, Phillips said they are proposing $2.4 million funding maintenance facility construction. But the project will total almost $53 million, and additional funding requests will be planned for 2025 and 2026.
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the CFP on September 18.
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