Springfield officials warn that items in the plan have not yet been funded, and some have been on the drawing board for more than 10 years.
Springfield City Hall.SPRINGFIELD – The city’s top finance official has released a five-year, $351.7 million capital improvement plan for Springfield, but with the warning that projects are not yet funded and will be limited by what the city can afford.
The five-year plan, presented by Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Lee C. Erdmann, includes $10.5 million for a new senior center at Blunt Park and a total of $20.8 million proposed for new school technology, school information technology projects and equipment and school security cameras.
Erdmann is required by state law to annually revise and submit the five-year plan to the mayor and City Council. At a recent council meeting, Councilor James J. Ferrera III said many of the projects have been discussed and debated for the last 10 to 15 years without being funded.
“I don’t want to give residents false hope,” Ferrera said.
Erdmann said the city is not able to bond during the current year, due to budget constraints, but will evaluate options in the coming year including shorter term bond anticipation notes, grants, and the city’s reserve funds to help determine what projects can be initially afforded.
A Capital Improvement Committee evaluated all projects and submitted its list of recommended “Priority A” projects.
The priority projects total $117.5 million over the five-year period, with a first-year cost estimated at $40.7 million, contingent on funding.
The Priority A projects will be reviewed again when funding is available, Erdmann said.
The costs for the priority projects, in the first year, are estimated at $3 million for public and private road improvements, $1 million for sidewalks, the full $15 million for the energy improvement projects, $3.5 million for the first phase of removing oil tanks, and a $2.2 million project to renovate and enlarge the Clifford A. Phaneuf Environmental Center in Forest Park.
Erdmann said he welcomes City Council input.
Patrick J. Sullivan, the city’s director of parks and buildings, said he is pleased that Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the finance team are striving to find funding to help build a new senior center.
“This is necessary to properly serve our seniors with programs,” Sullivan said. “We have an aging population and this building is critical in serving the needs of our seniors.”
Regarding a proposal to spend $1.3 million to improve the lower dam at Van Horn Park, Sullivan said the dam has been rated in poor condition by the Office of Dam Safety.
Projects are rated based on their overall fiscal impact, legal obligations, impact on service to the public, and urgency, among other factors, Erdmann said.
In fiscal year 2010, the city, aided by federal stimulus funds, borrowed $17.8 million for school projects.
The funds are being used to assist with construction of the new Putnam Vocational Technical High School and for renovations at Forest Park Middle School and STEM Middle School.