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Palatka staff outline capital projects and finance update, including splash pad, park renovations and reserves report
Summary
City staff presented a package of capital projects — park renovations, a splash pad, riverfront technical work, retaining-wall study, a $2.4 million north-side road program and building repairs — and Finance Director Peter Kayoffas reported the city's reserves and preliminary fiscal figures.
City staff provided a consolidated update on capital projects and grant-funded work at the March 27 Palatka City Commission meeting and Finance Director Peter Kayoffas presented the city's financial snapshot.
Key capital projects and funding details presented by staff (as stated at the meeting): - A park renovation project (Chopper Park/Chopper Park renovation as presented) will include playground and fitness elements, landscaping and irrigation; staff said $50,000 was received from FDP (presentation language in packet). - A larger facility project (presentation named a project that includes first-stage roof replacement, security upgrades and ADA improvements) was described as receiving $603,000 from POS plus approximately $1.15 million from the Department of Commerce to close out certain work; expected completion dates were given in staff slides (May 2025 for portions). - Bronson House repairs: staff said the plan includes structural repairs, hurricane-rated windows/doors and security lighting with a quoted amount around $208,000 from F10 (presentation text). - A splash pad on the riverfront or at a city park was listed with $375,000 allocated; staff said that figure represented the amount allocated for the project and that staff were obtaining design guidance and cost estimates. - A north-side roadway resurfacing program (described as pavement, compaction and backhaul work) was listed at $2,400,000 and identified as intended to improve road safety and durability in the North Side; staff said some work had already been authorized to proceed. - A riverfront reverse retaining-wall study was presented as a study to determine repair or replacement needs for approximately 331 linear feet of wall; staff listed an estimated cost of about $129,000 for that study.
Finance update (Peter Kayoffas, Finance Director): - Kayoffas said the annual budget is approximately $76,000,000 and gave a general performance summary through 02/28/2025. - He said the city had $5,576,000 in reserves on the financial statements presented and that governmental fund reserves were at approximately 6.7% (the presentation stated a 6.7% requirement and staff said the city exceeded the recommended reserve percentage). - Kayoffas reported several enterprise fund summaries in the packet, including a positive variance at the airport and a small positive for the golf course for the period reported.
Commissioners asked for further cost estimates and for staff to track project schedules and potential budget risks. A commissioner asked for an emphasis on completing projects on time and under budget; staff acknowledged that some previous projects had run over and said the city would emphasize project management to try to reduce overruns.
No formal votes were taken on the capital project presentations; staff asked for continued direction and noted grant closing dates and expected completion quarters for various items.
The commission asked staff to provide updated cost estimates for projects where line-item amounts were preliminary, and to return with schedule and procurement plans for high-priority items.
