The discussion of the city of Delaware’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan began a week ago before City Council is expected to adopt it at tonight’s meeting.
The CIP, which is required by the city’s charter to be adopted no later than Oct. 15, would allocate $1.75 million from the general fund each year from 2017 to 2021 for the following expenditures:
• Debt from the 2012 streetscape project this year’s maintenance of the Public Works building and an advanced from the reserve fund payback, which will be paid off in 2018.
• Improvements for the airport, streets, parks, equipment, technology and maintenance.
One element not included in the the CIP are the dollars and projects from the Moving Delaware Forward initiative, which has an income tax levy issue on the ballot this November election.
Voters are asked to increase the income tax to 2 percent from 1.85 percent. The additional 0.15 percent would generate $2.2 million used solely to update the city’s transportation system including network projects and road resurfacing and maintenance, according to city officials.
“Should the levy committee be successful, the levy be approved we will have to come back in the earlier part of the year with a very different revised CIP,” said Bill Ferrigno, director of public works/city engineer, during the work session.
Councilwoman Lisa Keller, 2nd Ward, said the omission should be noted as the CIP states there are no available funds for local street resurfacing in 2018 and 2019 as $480,000 and $500,000, respectively, will be used to accommodate increased costs of scheduled paving activity for collector and arterial projects.
“[It’s] important to have the conversation that this CIP states that our funding will drop to zero in 2018 and ‘19 if the levy doesn’t pass,” she said.
If the levy was successfully approved, funding for residential streets could be increased by an additional $800,000 per year, according to a description about the street improvements.
In other business, Council will:
• Have a first reading of an ordinance that would permit the Ohio Department of Transportation District 6 to re-seal the noise wall and bridge parapet along U.S. Route 42 between Fern Drive and South Sandusky Street.
• Have a first reading of an ordinance that would allow the city to refund $10,399.90 and $19,020 to the respective property owners of fire damaged properties for 34 Prospect Street and 3 Colfret Court. The city received the funds from two different insurance companies as required by state law in order to use the funds to raze, secure or repair the structure if an owner did not comply with the building official. In both cases, the owners are complying with the requirements and have requested reimbursements.
The meeting will take place at city hall, 1 S. Sandusky St., 7 p.m. in council chambers.
Editor’s note: The full version of the 2017 to 2021 Capital Improvement Plan is available here.
