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County bond team outlines progress, launches public transparency dashboard for voter-approved projects
Summary
County staff reported progress on the 2024 voter-approved capital improvement bonds (parks, medical examiner, animal shelter), said bond sale is scheduled for June 4 with proceeds expected July 1, 2025, and launched a public dashboard to track project status and future signage with QR codes.
El Paso County presented an update on voter-approved capital improvement bond projects and unveiled a public transparency dashboard the county says will let residents track progress on each proposition.
Public Works engineer Melina Manolis summarized project schedules and said the county is seeking efficiencies to accelerate work once bond proceeds are available: “While these dates were set a little conservative in in, collaboration with county attorneys in purchasing, ... we are working internally within public works to try to get these projects across and over to the community a lot faster.” The court heard that bonds are slated to be sold June 4 with proceeds expected about July 1, 2025.
Karen Davidson, the county purchasing agent, reported procurements running ahead of schedule for several items. She said the construction-manager-at-risk (CMAR) procurement for the Office of the Medical Examiner is roughly seven months ahead of the originally forecast schedule and that several park procurements and lighting projects have been accelerated to pursue efficiencies.
County transparency lead Danielle announced the new public dashboard: “Last Thursday, we officially went live with our transparency dashboard, a very, very exciting moment for us.” The online tool lists projects under Proposition A (parks and recreation), Proposition B (Office of Medical Examiner) and Proposition E (animal shelter), includes maps and conceptual images, and will be updated by project managers as awards and budgets are finalized. Officials said estimated project amounts will be added once design or contract awards are completed.
Judge Ricardo Samaniego and commissioners discussed timing and reporting cadence. Staff told the court they will provide monthly consolidated updates and move to biweekly updates after bond proceeds are received and project activity increases. The county also plans project signage with QR codes that will link pedestrians to the dashboard for project-specific information.
County staff noted the possible impacts of state legislation (HB 19) on bond execution and requested flexibility in timing and issuance strategy. Officials said they are preparing drawdown schedules to allow laddered investment of proceeds and to meet federal and state timeframes for expenditure. No formal procurement awards were made at the meeting; staff will return with award recommendations as solicitations conclude.
