Fallbrook library ranked third among capital funding needs

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a capital improvements needs assessment in which the Fallbrook Library was ranked third among partially-funded and unfunded major projects.

The capital improvements needs assessment will be combined with Department of Public Works and Department of Parks and Recreation special funds to form the county’s overall capital improvement plan. While input from the supervisors will determine the final list of projects to be funded, the supervisors voted 5-0 November 8 to accept the assessment summarizing the needs and projects for fiscal years 2005 through 2010 and to refer the assessment to the county’s Chief Administrative Officer to determine timing and funding mechanisms for the implementation of individual projects.

On June 21 the supervisors approved an update to Board of Supervisors Policy G-16, which covers capital facilities and space planning. The most significant updates involve a facilities planning board to recommend priorities for capital improvements along with criteria to be considered during the setting of priorities. The revisions to Policy G-16 call for the county’s Department of General Services to coordinate annual implementation of the policy with a “call for projects” in August in which departments submit high-priority projects, including estimated costs and level of available funding, for review and evaluation. The facilities planning board reviews the projects and recommends priorities for inclusion in the Capital Improvements Needs Assessment, which are presented to the county’s Chief Administrative Officer for preliminary review and submittal to the Board of Supervisors for acceptance, although the criteria is meant to serve as a guideline and the supervisors are not bound by the facilities planning board’s priority recommendations.

The list provided by the facilities planning board included ten projects for which funding has already been appropriated, 21 partially funded and unfunded major capital projects ($5 million or more) and 17 partially funded and unfunded minor capital projects. The Fallbrook branch office for county services was among the minor capital projects, which were not ranked.

The assessments for the partially-funded and unfunded projects include $722,750,000 of requested funding, of which $26,310,000 has been funded. The funding appropriations will take place during future Board of Supervisors budget sessions or mid-year appropriations hearings.

The ranking criteria included linkage to the county’s strategic plan, critical need (emergency or safety services), federal or state mandates or other legally-binding commitments, operating budget impacts (quantifiable reduced operating costs), maintenance budget impacts (quantifiable reduced maintenance costs), customer service benefits and enhancing the quality of life for San Diego County residents. The policy states that capital projects shall be prioritized using criteria including but not limited to those specifically listed.

The top-ranked partially-funded need is the Rancho San Diego Sheriff’s Substation, for which $7,000,000 of the needed $10,000,000 has been budgeted. The second-ranked project is the new medical examiner and county veterinarian facility, which is currently in the planning and design stages and for which $2,000,000 of the needed $59,000,000 has been funded.

The new Fallbrook and Ramona branch libraries rank third and fourth, respectively, although neither library received Proposition 14 funding under the most recent state library bond and the county’s funding plans for both libraries currently include passage of a new library bond in the June 2006 election and successful grant applications for that money. In addition to the library bond money, the $6,100,000 total need for the Fallbrook library would be funded by general fund revenue and by private donations. The county has already appropriated $200,000, which does not include Friends of the Fallbrook Library assets committed for the new facility, toward the new library.

The Fallbrook county services branch office has a $1,320,000 needs estimate, all of which is currently unfunded.