The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously at a recent meeting to approve a $1.16 billion capital improvement plan over the next five years.
CIP approval is not an approval of a specific project and is not a request for funding. This plan identifies potential projects, lists potential start and completion dates, recommends how the project will be financed, and provides multi-year cost estimates (including potential cost increases) only.
“The Capital Improvement Plan is a very important element of county government leadership,” said Patrice Dietrich, county deputy executive officer and chief operating officer, adding that $350 million of the $1.2 billion plan He pointed out that the dollars are funded solely by facility requests. “This is a strategic plan that allows us to prioritize all of the space, building and facility needs needed to serve the community that our 26 divisions have identified.”
The large-scale projects disclosed by Public Works Director Dave Leamon include the North County Corridor (more than 2 miles of freeway/interstate highway between Modesto and Oakdale) with a $180 million price tag; construction). Seventh Avenue Bridge (construction of a four-lane replacement bridge), with a potential cost of $95 million. And Crow’s Landing Business Park will cost an estimated $43 million to build.
“Obviously, our roads and bridges are our greatest assets in the county,” said District 2 Supervisor Vito Chiesa, who represents Turlock. “Roads are progressing little by little, but every year you get a few bridges done, and if you’re really lucky you get three of them done, but you’re still going on a 70-, 80-year cycle. It’s beyond the average lifespan, so we’re basically working on borrowed time at this point.
“I just want the public to understand the daunting task on the part of utilities, and we get a ton of complaints about it. …This is a great start. , I appreciate that, because it seems like there’s a much more coordinated effort on capital improvement projects.”
The General Services Administration’s Tier 1 projects mentioned in the plan by GSA Secretary Andrew Johnson and GSA Manager Teresa Vander Veen include a 50,000-square-foot Health Services Agency/Public Health Facility ($58.2 million); include. Design and construction of the Public Safety Center Outdoor Recreation Yard ($6 million). and Keys Community Center renovations ($2 million). Some of the Tier 2 projects include juvenile courthouse renovations ($6 million) and roof evaluation/replacement at the Gallo Arts Center ($1.4 million).
Capital improvements are improvements to facilities or infrastructure that cost $200,000 or more and extend the useful life of the facility by more than five years or change the way the facility/space is used.
Requests submitted by individual departments are reviewed by GSA and sent to the CIP Committee for prioritization before arriving at the desk of County CEO Jody Hayes and her senior leadership team. The supervisors will then be briefed before the Planning Commission considers it, after which it will be sent to the supervisors for adoption.
