At the beginning of the Wake Forest Town Board’s March 21 meeting there will be a public hearing about the 2017-2022 Capital Improvement Plan. Town residents with questions or suggestions are encouraged to attend and speak.
The CIP includes requests from all town departments for items that cost more than $25,000 with a useful life of five years or more which are then rated by a matrix based on several priorities. A copy of the CIP is available for examination at town hall.
Some of the big-ticket items have been discussed several times: the addition at the Northern Wake Senior Center, $2,665,000; the new pool at Holding Park, $2,282,500; the community center at Joyner Park, $3,622,500.
But a new one, $7,500,000 for site acquisition and development, is part of Economic Developer Jason Cannon’s plan for the town to buy a large site where the town can either lure one large employer or a number of businesses that would hire smaller numbers. Cannon is not saying where or when, but he and Town Manager Kip Padgett want the money to be available when the time comes.
Padgett’s letter to the mayor and commissioners says the plan identifies $189 million in needs over the next five years, projects that would have an impact of $19 million on operating costs. “Many of the projects identified will require funding through grants, bond referendums, installment purchase agreements and general fund revenues.”
In the coming fiscal year that begins in June, 2017-2018, the funding request is for $39 million. Much of that money will be used for maintenance of town assets, economic development and projects that were included in the 2014 bond referendum.
There are some big-ticket items that are not included except under the designation “Future Years.” Those include $21 million (today’s estimate) for a new police station; $5 million for an east side fire station and apparatus; and investment in economic development that could total $25 million in five-plus years.
One big-ticket item, the expansion of the public works operations center, is slated for this five-year cycle, with expenditures to total $27 million. The town board has heard the options presented by a consultant, remain in the existing location on Friendship Chapel Road or relocate to a more accessible, larger site. “The town has not made a decision and is evaluating the options at this time. The board of commissioners will make the final decision,” Facilities Director Mickey Rochelle said in a recent email.
The police department purchases new patrol vehicles each year through a state program, and is asking this year for a replacement surveillance vehicle, $175,000; a backup communications center, $600,000; and a mobile command vehicle, $325,000.
The public hearing is almost first on the agenda for the meeting that begins at 7 p.m. in the second-floor meeting room at town hall.
