Staff outlines proposed 2026 Capital Improvement Plan; targets $20 million annual GEO bond sales

City engineering and finance staff presented a proposed 2026 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that emphasizes multi-year funding needs for water infrastructure, parks and legacy facilities and sets a staff target of a $20 million annual general obligation (G.O.) bond sale.

Laura Biggs, the city engineer, said the proposed CIP addresses federally- and state-mandated lead service line replacements and an increased pace of water main replacement. She told the committee that federal and state grant and loan forgiveness (Illinois EPA and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity) reduced the need for a water rate increase for 2026 but that multi-year rate adjustments may still be required for future years.

Biggs said the city is responding to deteriorated legacy parks (11 parks identified) and aging facilities. Two parks have completed renovation, four are under construction and five are planned; staff proposes beginning design for Raymond Park in 2026. Parks funding faces a significant shortfall: staff estimated playground equipment replacement for recently removed unsafe equipment would cost about $4 million while the existing annual playground budget had been $600,000 and was raised to $1.5 million for the draft CIP.

Staff also summarized facilities work: the city completed initial work at the service center and plans a larger electrical and HVAC modernization, and the Noyes Cultural Arts Center is under study with deferred implementation. Resolving long-term options for police and fire headquarters continues, including potential acquisition and refurbishment of 1801 Maple if negotiations with Northwestern University proceed.

Biggs described alley special assessments and the alley petition wait list (88 households), and said Community Development Block Grant changes mean CDBG should no longer be a primary alley funding source. Sidewalk replacement in business districts and ADA-related increases in scope also raised costs.

To address competing needs and constrained debt capacity, staff proposed a prioritization rubric and said they will aim to budget roughly $22–23 million of projects so the anticipated issuance would be $20 million in G.O. debt annually. Staff argued that dropping the G.O. target below $20 million would primarily affect parks and facilities projects, since many transportation projects have other funding sources or grant matches. Staff asked the committee for feedback on the prioritization criteria and funding approach.

Committee members asked for additional long-range facility cost forecasts and requested clearer estimates of property-tax impacts (e.g., effect on a median $500,000 home) over 5 and 10 years under the $20 million baseline and for the large facilities (police/fire/service center). Staff said they will refine the 10-year CIP and provide additional fiscal scenarios during upcoming budget discussions.