Supervisors approve CINA

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved an updated Capital Improvement Needs Assessment, which reflects both the county's facilities needs and the expected revenue shortage in the near future.

The supervisors' 5-0 vote, May 19, also revised county policy G-16 which addresses capital facilities and planning. Although the approval of the needs assessment itself did not include funding for the projects on the list, the supervisors also directed Helen Robbins-Meyer, chief administrative officer for the county, to determine timing and funding mechanisms to implement the individual projects.

The Capital Improvement Needs Assessment plan was initially slated to be considered at the March 24 board of supervisors meeting, but the coronavirus outbreak caused that item to be withdrawn as lost revenues and increased expenses due to containment efforts forced an adjustment in the capital improvement plan.

"We're taking a hard look at the capital improvements," Marko Medved, director of the county's department of general services, said. "We'll use this time to pause certain projects for a year until we can get a better financial situation."

The updated needs assessment covers facilities projects slated for implementation between 2020 and 2025. 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. The county's Airport Enterprise Fund is derived from lease rent from businesses on county airport land, so airport projects, which often also utilize Federal Aviation Administration and State Division of Aeronautics grants, are also not included in the CINA list.

A Facilities Planning Board prioritizes projects based on criteria including benefits and linkage to the county's strategic plan and ranks projects. 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.

One of the changes to Policy G-16, which was originally approved in 1997, identifies separate pre-construction and construction phases.

"Funding will be recommended primarily for pre-construction. During this phase a site will be identified and acquired," Medved said. "Once the pre-construction phase is complete the project will be recommended for construction."

Four projects were designated for cancellation: rerouting the Sweetwater loop vernal pool trail, an outdoor field at the East Mesa juvenile detention facility, a Live Well campus and expansion of the 4S Ranch library. Those four projects had a combined estimated cost of $15,000,000 and less than $900,000 of that had been funded. Other projects were deferred from planned start dates.

"Staff is recommending that a large number of these projects be placed on hold this year," Medved said. "These projects will remain in the CINA and will be considered for funding at a later date."

The total estimated cost of the capital program is $2.017 billion including $747.0 million of funding already appropriated. The recommended fiscal year 2020-2021 funding is $57.9 million.

The list included fully funded but uncompleted projects. Acquisition and development of a county park in Fallbrook has an estimated cost of $3,172,000, and that is fully funded. What was a five-acre park in the CINA became 6.8 acres in March when the county purchased Barr Ranch land on the south side of Fallbrook Street between Morro Road and Golden Road. The eventual improvements for the park would include ball fields, sports courts and a playground.

The $602,000 for construction of a skateboard park in Fallbrook is also fully funded as is the $585,000 estimated cost to complete the Don Dussault Park improvements.

The county has already purchased more than 19,600 acres for the Multiple Species Conservation Program and anticipates the acquisition of nearly 12,500 additional acres. The estimated cost to acquire that remaining amount is $294,000,000 and $155,203,755 of that has been funded. That project will be paused with no 2020-2021 recommended funding, although for the final four years in the five-year plan total funding of $27.305 million is currently recommended.

"We are ahead of schedule for long-term acquisition," said Brian Albright, who is currently the director of the county's Department of Public Works and was previously the director of the county's Department of Parks and Recreation.

The MSCP acquisition currently ranks 25th on the list of 55 unfunded and partially funded projects. The 28th-ranked project is the land acquisition and improvements for the future San Luis Rey River Park, and that project will also be paused. The cost estimate is now $51,268,287 with $7,768,287 of that already funded. The lack of recommended 2020-2021 following is currently followed by $38,750,000 of recommended funding between 2021-2022 and 2024-2025.

The San Luis Rey 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 river park will stretch for approximately 9 miles and encompass approximately 1,600 acres. The park will provide open space areas including trails, staging areas and habitat preservation and will also include active recreation land such as ball fields, play areas and picnic facilities.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].