CINA calls for San Luis Rey River Park construction during 2021-2022

An updated Capital Improvement Needs Assessment for San Diego County was approved by the county Board of Supervisors.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote, Tuesday, March 16, approved the CINA, which reflects the county’s facilities needs. The approval of the needs assessment itself did not include funding for projects on the list, although the supervisors also directed chief administrative officer Helen Robbins-Meyer to determine timing and funding mechanisms to implement the individual projects. Hearings on the county’s 2021-2022 budget with public input are scheduled for June 14-23 with budget deliberation and adoption taking place June 29 in the absence of delays.

“The CINA is a planning document,” Marko Medved, the director of the county’s Department of General Services, said. “It is not a financial document and has no financial impact.”

The updated needs assessment covers facilities projects slated for improvement between fiscal year 2021-2022 and fiscal year 2025-2026. The five-year plan includes an estimated $1.27 billion of unfunded or partially-funded projects. The planned 2021-2022 expenditures total $245.9 million.

“The CINA drives a robust county construction program,” Medved said.

The capital planning process which includes the CINA 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 Airports land, so airport projects, which also utilize Federal Aviation Administration and State Division of Aeronautics grants, are not part of the CINA list.

A Facilities Planning Board prioritizes projects based on criteria including benefits and linkage to the county’s strategic plan. 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 CINA program list.

Board of supervisors’ Policy G-16, which addresses capital facilities and planning, was originally approved in 1997. When the county supervisors approved the five-year CINA plan last year Policy G-16 was modified to identify separate pre-construction and construction phases. Funding may be recommended primarily for pre-construction, which includes identifying and acquiring a site, with the project being recommended for construction after the pre-construction phase is complete.

Brian Albright, director of Department of Parks and Recreation said that 75 of the 99 projects on the CINA list involve parks.

“The plan for parks is balanced to ensure we have opportunities to complete a large amount of projects each year,” Albright said.

About 60 of those parks projects involve a pre-construction phase.

The project with the highest 2021-2022 expense is the replacement of the Juvenile Hall complex in San Diego which is approximately 60 years old and the Juvenile Probation Center which is more than 50 years old. The $75,000,000 programmed for fiscal year 2021-2022 would provide the entire $75,400,000 expected cost including $400,000 previously funded.

The CINA list as presented to the board of supervisors called for spending of $13,150,000 for the San Luis River Park during 2021-2022 and $13,000,000 for that park in 2022-23. Supervisor Jim Desmond suggested that the amount allocated for 2022-2023 be moved up to 2021-2022 for better efficiency, and his four colleagues approved that recommendation to create a $26,150,000 total for 2021-2022.

“By adding $13 million, the entire park can be constructed at once rather than in phases. Constructing the park at once provides significant cost savings by bidding out and awarding one contract rather than two,” Desmond said.

That would reduce permit, bid process and mobilization expenses.

“There would be a 10% to 20% savings in efficiency,” Desmond said.

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 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. The total estimated cost of $61,668,287 includes $7,767,483 which has already been funded. The five-year spending plan also calls for $15,000,000 during 2023-2024, $9,000,000 in 2024-2025 and $3,750,000 for 2025-2026.

A new library in the Casa De Oro area of Spring Valley has both a land acquisition phase and a construction phase and if the 2021-2022 budget includes the $21,007,935 earmarked in the CINA, that project would be fully funded. The allocation of $18,100,000 for the East Otay Mesa Fire Station would fully fund that project. The County Administration Center renovation project has a $14,000,000 projected expenditure for fiscal year 2021-2022 with $37,120,000 programmed for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.

The 10 highest 2021-2022 expenditures are rounded out with $13,000,000 to upgrade the Heritage Park building to current standards and convert its use to a hotel, $10,500,000 for the pre-construction and construction phases of what is currently called Alpine Local Park, $10,100,000 to design and construct a new animal shelter, $10,000,000 for the Third Avenue mental health inpatient facility and $9,000,000 for Calavo Park in Spring Valley.

The county plans to spend $7,500,000 in each of the next five fiscal years for Multiple Species Conservation Program land acquisition. The county has already acquired approximately 23,000 acres for the Multiple Species Conservation Program and has a goal of acquiring 500 acres annually. The estimated cost to acquire the remaining amount is $294,000,000 with $155,420,846 already funded.

The planned 2022-2023 expenses include $1,000,000 for Keys Creek Preserve, which would fully fund the design, environmental review and construction of Via Piedra Road to create a staging area which connects to West Lilac Road. The amenities will include parking stalls, fencing, benches, signage, kiosks and trash containers.

A bicycle skills course at a North County location to be determined is scheduled to be funded in 2023-2024. The $2,000,000 programmed would provide the entire estimated cost.

The green roof on the Fallbrook branch library will be replaced with photovoltaic energy panels, and a parking canopy with photovoltaic panels will also be added. Those photovoltaic panels will generate the library’s entire energy demand. The $1,700,000 estimated project cost is expected to utilize $100,000 of 2023-2024 expenditures and $1,600,000 of 2024-2025 spending.

The county plans to locate a sheriff’s station near the junction of Interstate 15 and state Route 76. The sheriff’s station will have approximately 25,000 square feet of space. The land acquisition, design and construction has an estimated cost of $49,500,000. The five-year plan calls for spending of $5,000,000 in 2024-2025 and $44,500,000 during 2025-2026.

A project currently called Fallbrook Western Park will begin with the acquisition of land to establish the new local park. The CINA programs $2,500,000 of funding for 2025-2026.

A future local park in the Pala/Pauma Valley area will encompass approximately four acres and will include a sports field and a playground. The land acquisition, design, environmental analysis and construction is expected to cost $3,700,000. The initial $1,500,000 spending is slated to occur in 2025-2026.