A Domino Effect

We will have to get the funding from the sale of the other property in order to move into the next stages but as soon as this is passed initial site work can begin right away”

--- Ken Jones

Tempe Municipal Operations Center
2050 W. Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, AZ
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By Benjamin Garcia
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Tempe City Council votes on a budget transfer that will allocate funds to the city facilities capital improvement plan project meant for the construction of the Tempe Municipal Operations Center.

The budget transfer will distribute $300,000 worth of funds from the CIP street grants contingency fund to the CIP fund. This will provide sufficient spending for initial site work of the Tempe Municipal Operations Center project site, government officials say.

The initial site work that will be covered from the budget transfer will include assessments of airspace, utilities, drainage and grading of the site along with other normal procedures, according to a city staff report.

The new site is at 2050 W. Rio Salado Parkway and is the eventual home of the Municipal Operations Center.

“This budget transfer will allow us to do all of the site work and have somebody got out to this new site and be able to get water or sewage to this site,” said Deputy City Manager Ken Jones. “If there is landfill under the dirt, we’ll start to assess what the remediation needs are and will be used to prepare the site.”

Mr. Jones reports the pending project is a result of better logistics.

“This will allow us to free up some of those other sites that are in advantageous areas for development,” he said. “When you look at our police yard site which is probably one of the most valuable sites, to have a public works facility that are working on fleet vehicles and storing refuse trucks. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to have that being near such a valuable site.”

Although the plan of completely developing a new facility in a new area is going to take a long time. Tempe officials say they are looking to get the proverbial ball rolling by transferring the $300,000 to get the initial site work done to accelerate the process.

“The whole process is going to take a long time because it is going to be expensive,” Mr. Jones said. “We will have to get the funding from the sale of the other property in order to move into the next stages but as soon as this is passed initial site work can begin right away.”