Capital improvement program adopted by county board ontributing writer The Anoka County Board Dec. 2 adopted a five-year capital improvement program (2023-2027) along with the 2023 capital improvement budget totaling $$100.5 million. The action came following a public hearing at which no one spoke, and no comments were made by county board members, who reviewed the proposal at the November meeting of its Finance and Capital Improvements Committee. The $100.5 million in capital improvements was folded into the county's overall $367 million budget for 2023, which was also approved Dec. 2. Chief Finance Officer Cory Kampf said that the projects and equipment in the 2023 program will help "keep up the county's infrastructure," but those listed for 2024 through 2027 are for planning purposes only. The capital improvement plan covers projects costing more than $10,000, while the equipment portion is to buy or replace county equipment with a price tag over $25,000, which includes all vehicle purchases as well as information technology projects, Kampf said. Of the $100.5 million, $86.675 million is earmarked for projects and $11.840 million for equipment. According to the 2023 spending plan, $46.959 million has been allocated to road and bridge projects, $28.585 million to special projects, $11.241 million to facilities and maintenance, $5.462 million for information technology, $4.276 million to capital equipment and vehicles, $3.283 million for parks and $708,500 for the county library system. Under the program, federal (34%) and state (31%) funding combined will pay a majority of the cost, while the county, from a variety of accounts, is allocating $20.027 million to the budget, including 30% from the asset preservation fund, but only 4% from property taxes and no bonding. Big ticket road and bridge projects include bridge replacements on Coon Creek Boulevard in Coon Rapids and Viking Boulevard in Oak Grove, roundabout construction at both Old Central Avenue and Gardena in Fridley as well as Armstrong Boulevard and Alpine Drive in Ramsey, and interchange improvements at County Road J and I-35E. In addition, there is $10.5 million set aside for the annual countywide mill and overlay project and money for design/engineering work on the future Highway 10 grade separation projects at Ramsey and Sunfish Lake boulevards in Ramsey. Facilities and maintenance projects include $2.5 million for remodeling the second floor at the county's human service center in Blaine and $3.25 million for the Rum River Human Service Center centralization project. The parks capital plan includes $1 million for improvements at Bunker Hills Regional Park. Listed under other projects is the new emergency communication center, for which the county board approved a $22 million contract this fall for a 2023 construction start with federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars picking up the cost. There is also $4.6 million allocated for design work on a new parking ramp to replace the existing government center ramp, where a new jail is proposed to be built, as well as $5 million for schematic design work for the new jail. According to the capital improvement program, bonds will be sold in late 2024 to finance the cost of parking ramp and jail projects, but neither have yet received final approval from the board.
__________________________ Construct grade-separated crossings of Highway 10 and BNSF railway at Sunfish Lake Boulevard. Includes half of the required frontage road improvements. As of January 20, 2023, this project is currently in the FY 2023-2032 CIP . Funding for this project is allotted in the city's capital improvement plan for construction Fy 2024. A firm timeline has not been established; however, construction is scheduled for Fiscal Year 2024.
*Project information has been obtained through a public capital improvement plan (CIP). A CIP is a financial schedule for short- and long-range projects which is updated regularly. Information listed in the CIP often evolves based on funding availability and the project details, including timeline and value, are subject to change. The content management team will continue to pursue additional details as they become available.
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