JBC capital committee members debate priorities after DOC flags fire-safety need over shower repairs

Members of the Joint Budget Committee's Capital Development Committee pressed staff about why a DOC shower, drain and toilet upgrade was ranked higher than a Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center fire-protection project that DOC staff said was their priority. The exchange took place during a discussion of the committee's phase-2 project list and how continuation projects and controlled maintenance should be prioritized.

The session opened with a committee member noting DOC's preference: “we have heard from DOC that the Denver Reception and Diagnostic Center fire protection system is far more important to them than the critical living unit shower, drain, and toilet improvements.” Committee members asked staff to explain why the shower project appeared higher on the committee’s list.

JBC and CDC members said they tried to respect continuation projects and controlled maintenance when assembling the list. “We really did look at those continuation projects and wanted to make sure that we weren't leaving people kind of in the middle of a project and not being able to finish it,” said a member identified in the transcript as Senator Mullica. Multiple members said they tried to move controlled maintenance up the list but did not have the votes to make it No. 1; one member thanked colleagues who “wanted to put that first.”

Committee members pressed staff and each other on whether a phased, second-phase project could be delayed without disrupting operations. “If there is one of these projects, if we have to find dollars, which we may well have to do, is there one of these phased projects that is in a position that could wait on the second phase, without total disruption to the organization?” asked Representative Taggart. Staff and CDC members said distinguishing which continuation projects could safely pause was difficult without more detail from agencies.

The committee repeatedly emphasized limited available funding. “There's no money,” one member said of the budget outlook during CDC deliberations, and members described trying to “stay within the parameters of the task” in the face of constrained resources. The committee also discussed other items on the capital list — for example the Carl School for the Deaf and Blind's West Hall — and whether those projects require matching or “BEST” funds to proceed.

The committee did not adopt a final, publicly posted reordering on the record during this exchange; members asked staff and agency representatives to continue planning with an eye to completing continuation projects and addressing life-safety priorities where possible. The discussion closed with a reminder that the committee sees itself as a partner to the agencies and that tradeoffs will be necessary given hundreds of millions in unmet capital needs.