City council prioritizes enormous optional project list

Charged with narrowing a $6.1 million deficit and prioritizing a
list of nearly 150 optional projects, the city council has
identified its top 10.
Charged with narrowing a $6.1 million deficit and prioritizing a list of nearly 150 optional projects, the city council has identified its top 10.

Narrowing the long discretionary project list has become increasingly important as the body deals with a shortfall in development-based fees that subsidize most of the city’s large capital projects. Last month staff informed the council that the city coffers dedicated to new roads, other infrastructure and new public buildings were coming up 75 percent short, or about $14 million, due to the down housing market.

These funds specifically affect the potential teen center, the arts center, a new library and the BMX dirt bike park. Other projects not directly linked to developer fees but still on the long list of to-dos include lighting on the Christmas Hill Park levee, shifting the city’s election cycle to even years and a new government transparency ordinance. Money for these projects will likely come from the city’s general fund, which relies heavily on sales tax revenues; but officials expect those revenues to come up short by more than $1 million this fiscal year.

After a broad, five-hour discussion earlier this month concerning the nearly 150 projects, the council ultimately identified its top 10:

■ Library expansion

■ Open government ordinance

■ Sidewalks

■ Gilroy Gardens Master Plan

■ Arts Center

■ Housing allocation process

■ Downtown revitalization

■ Reorganizing police department

■ “Greening” the city

■ Hiring in-house instead of contract attorney

A separate mandatory list consists of projects required by state and local laws, according to City Clerk Shawna Freels. The Community Development Department has the longest list of mandated projects, mostly traffic and utility related, that stem from various master plan requirements and other local ordinances.

Other priorities

■ Teen Center Study

■ Las Animas Industrial Park – Master Plan

■ C.E.R.T.

■ Sports Park Pubic/Private Study

■ Streamline Permit Process (Devel. Ctr.)

■ GUSD /Gavilan School Partnership

■ City Charter Update

■ BPED – Board to Commission Transition

■ Undergrounding Utility Ordinance

■ Spot RDA

■ Quarterly Finance Review

■ Dog Park – LAVP Pond Improvements