Supervisors update Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors updated the county's Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program.

The supervisors' 5-0 vote April 12 approved the five-year needs assessment provided by the county's Department of General Services, and although the approval of the needs assessment itself did not include funding for the projects on the list, the supervisors also directed county Chief Administrative Officer Helen Robbins-Meyer to determine timing and funding mechanisms to implement the individual projects.

"We'll be bringing forward many of these projects next month when we bring our budget to you," Robbins-Meyer said.

"The Capital Improvement Needs Assessment is a running list of major and minor county construction projects recently completed, under way, or planned," said Supervisor Bill Horn.

"A glance at the list is like looking into the future of county government in our region."

The plan includes $661.7 million of fully-funded projects including $336.6 million of recently-completed projects. The unfunded projects have an estimated cost of $645 million. "I'm very pleased to move each of them forward," Horn said.

"This is a great document of how we are going to be serving our constituents for decades to come," said Supervisor Dave Roberts.

The annual update retains land acquisition for the San Luis Rey River Park, land acquisition for the Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP), a new emergency operations vehicle center, and improvements to Don Dussault Park as items requiring funding. The updated needs assessment covers facilities projects slated for capital improvement between 2016 and 2021. The capital planning process, which includes the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program, focuses on facilities, so road projects are not included on the capital improvements list.

A Facilities Planning Board prioritizes projects based on criteria including benefits and linkage to the county's strategic plan and ranks major projects, defined as those with an estimated cost of at least $10 million. Projects estimated to cost less than $10 million are listed but were not ranked. Additional projects which have been identified but which require further analysis to define their scope will be brought to the Board of Supervisors in the future for addition onto the Capital Improvement Needs Assessment Program list.

The 2016-21 needs assessment has 10 major projects, an increase from the eight major projects in the last year's program. The Regional Communications System, the new crime lab, and the North Coastal Health and Human Services Agency project were the three highest-ranked priorities in the 2015-20 assessment, and those projects have all been moved to the list of funded or active projects. The replacement of two County Operation Center public safety buildings and the first phase of the new South County animal shelter in Bonita are new to the list and were given the two highest rankings. The new major projects also include new branch libraries in Casa de Oro and Lakeside and an East County center for the county Assessor/Recorder/Clerk.

The MSCP land acquisition now ranks third among the major projects. The county has already purchased more than 19,400 acres for the MSCP and anticipates the acquisition of nearly 13,000 additional acres. The estimated cost to acquire that remaining amount is $294 million and $168,406,043 of that has already been funded.

The future San Luis Rey River Park will include open space areas including trails, staging areas, and habitat preservation. Since those open space areas are for the most part within the draft MSCP boundaries, the MSCP funding will be available to purchase open space land within the river park. The river park plans also include active recreation fields such as ball fields, play areas, and picnic facilities. The active recreation land would not be eligible for MSCP funding.

Somewhere within San Diego County, 15 acres of flat land will be acquired and paved for use as an emergency vehicle operations center. That facility will be used for training and refresher course purposes, including high-speed law enforcement pursuits as well as other specialized emergency vehicle operation procedures. The estimated $15 million project is currently in the planning stages and is ranked fourth on the 2016-21 assessment list.

The San Luis Rey River Park was ranked eighth among last year's priorities and tenth on the updated list. The current needs assessment plan addresses land acquisition and development of one of the two planned active recreation sites. The river park boundaries are yet to be determined and land will be acquired only from willing sellers, so the total acquisition cost estimate may require adjustment. The San Luis Rey River Park will cover approximately 1,600 acres, and the linear park will stretch for approximately nine miles.

In July 2005 the Board of Supervisors appropriated $5 million to purchase land for the river park. The county's 2006-07 budget provided an additional $3 million. More than 500 acres have already been purchased, and approximately 800 acres will be acquired as part of the California Department of Transportation mitigation requirements for the widening of State Route 76. The estimated cost for the acquisition of an additional 250 acres, including 40 to 60 acres for two active recreation sites, and the development of one of those active recreation sites is $38,786,205, including $13,786,244 which has been funded. The total estimated development cost of the river park is $50 million.

One of the minor projects would spend approximately $500,000 to convert the San Luis Rey watershed parking lot to permeable pavement, which would reduce runoff into the river and its tributaries.

Improvements to Don Dussault Park were added to the list in 2014. Don Dussault Park is a 3/4-acre recreational facility off of Alturas Road near the intersection of Aviation Road. The master plan for the park has a current cost estimate of $850,000 for all of the planned improvements, and $330,000 of funding allowed for the completion of the first phase of improvements during fall 2014. The second phase, which is currently in the planning stages, will include a junior play structure, picnic areas, exercise equipment, paths, landscaping, and irrigation.