Richard Smith
Independent Newsmedia

Given the uncertainty of public support for large-scale capital improvement projects in Surprise, the wish list presented during Tuesday’s City Council Work Session may seem — at least in its entirety — more like a dream list.

The city does not have money set aside for the nearly $192 million in projects presented. Not even close.

Rather, this is a list of public safety, transportation, parks and recreation, government and water projects the city is likely to need in the next five to 10 years. City departments ranked the projects by priority and the council will need to do the same.

During the discussion, questions by councilmen Todd Tande and Ken Remley hit on one factor that is likely to bump up a project’s priority. Several items on the list have development impact fees tied to them that must be spent by Jan. 1, 2020, and will need to start soon.

“I think that’s an important thing that we need to consider this year. Next year is pushing it. I’d hate to lose that,” Vice Mayor Tande said.

Surprise Budget Director Jared Askelson stated in an email that impact fee funds must be spent by that date in the following projects:

• Road improvements on 163rd Avenue from Grand Avenue to Jomax Road, $2.4 of the $2.5 million in impact fees for the $11.3 million project.


• A third library in the city (at an unspecified location), $4.6 million of a $10 million project.


• A new public works yard — a project in the failed 2016 bond — has $7.2 million in impact for the $11.8 million project.

Fire Station 308, planned for the southwest corner of Litchfield and Cactus roads, has $1.4 million in dedicated impact fees for the total $7 million project but the deadline for using these fees is further off, Mr. Askelson said.

He said the city is determining what this year’s capital improvement funding amount will be and will have that information by April 18 when the city manager’s recommended budget fiscal year 2018 is unveiled.

For the sake of comparison, the fiscal year 2017 budget had a $53 million capital improvements budget.

Transportation projects comprise the second largest total by category on the list of priorities. The majority of these projects would add a second travel lane in each direction to unfinished stretches of busy city roads.

For example three projects — Greenway Road from Cotton to Sarival, Waddell Road from Cotton to Reems and Cactus Road from Cotton to Reems — are in the area of the stalled Prasada master plan.

These three projects in full would cost $19.5 million and Vice Mayor Tande said starting all or some might stimulate development of the main shopping center.

Councilman John Williams asked if, since there is not enough funding available to complete all of these projects, the city could look at improving smaller chunks of these roads that are known

“I think immediately of Waddell and Reems and that hard turn,” councilman Williams said.

The list for parks and recreation is the priciest and a bit different. While the total potential price tag is more than $65 million, the projects listed come directly from the city’s parks master plan and parks projects by their nature tend to take longer from concept to completion - sometimes two decades or more.

The only of the nine projects on the 2016 bond proposal not included in this presentation was a $19 million regional recreation center. But Mr. Askelson said that came about because that bond project changed from the original $30 million field house included in the parks master plan.

And as Mr. Williams said parks projects are more likely to wait longer or not to come to fruition than roads or public safety proposals.

“We’re never going to fund all these things. When we looked at the bond, these are generational things,” councilman Williams said.

He said with a list this long and pricey the city may need to look at alternative ways to fund some projects, perhaps by leveraging some of its assets.

While the vice mayor agreed that some projects are needed fairly soon and have to take priority, he cautioned against ignoring big picture items that residents will appreciated 15 to 25 years from now.

“Some of these costs I think we’ll grow into with revenues. But as many prior councils know, they took the leap of faith and built the stadium and the community park — all those kind of things. Where would Surprise be if we didn’t have their vision,” Vice Mayor Tande said.

Councilman Skip Hall said some of the city’s current assets can be improved with low-cost projects on the CIP list — like lighting at the tennis complex and a heated Hollyhock Pool.

While another attempt at a bond election and different strategies for a future bond vote were not talked about directly, the financial reality makes another

“I agree that a lot of this we’re going to have to go to the voters and say, do you want this? And if they don’t, then back to councilman Williams’ point, what are alternate funding mechanisms? Can we get corporate sponsorships, etc. to do this?” councilman Skip Hall said.

 

TOTAL EXPENSES OF TOP 10 PROJECTS IN EACH CATEGORY

Public Safety - $31.5 million

Transportation - $47.4 million

Parks and Recreation - $65.1 million

General Government - $16.2 million

Wastewater - $29.7 million

Stormwater - $8.8 million

Note: Projects are generally agreed upon as needs by city officials in the next 10 years.