Marathon County sees roughly $10 million in initial CIP requests; rolling stock, highway reserve and body‑camera storage called out

Marathon County staff presented an initial, unfunded five‑year Capital Improvement Projects list that departments submitted as potential projects; staff estimated roughly $10 million in requests excluding a component of highway reserve funding.

Departments prioritized projects in their submissions; rolling stock and recurring replacements accounted for a large share of the requests. Staff noted that rolling‑stock costs have risen sharply and that they applied a five‑year CPI average and a 3% forward assumption to better project future costs. The highway reserve list includes a large paver that would be funded from highway reserves if the board approves that approach.

The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office submitted a new recurring request for body cameras, tasers and third‑party video storage; staff said the current contract is ending, an RFP returned higher costs than prior estimates, and recurring subscription costs could push the item into the CIP discussion. Staff also flagged a potential Superion replacement and a major chiller replacement for building AU‑13 tied to refrigerant‑transition work that could be more economical if performed with other equipment changes.

Other items called out included a new highway facility design (design fee estimated at roughly 4.5% of total project cost), an ice arena cooling‑tower and repair items tied to a broader discussion about the county’s role in the facility, and election equipment (county clerk) that seldom appears on CIP lists but should be forecasted. Staff said the full funding picture would not be known until August and that some projects could be phased (three‑year subscriptions or multi‑year funding) rather than funded up front.

Staff will return with refined cost estimates, prioritization tied to available funding, and vendor/RFP details where applicable.