City presents 6‑year CIP: Justice campus, fire stations and power upgrades lead funding requests; animal‑shelter purchase tied to geo‑bond

City staff presented the 2025–2031 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) to the Independence Planning Commission, describing nearly 200 projects across departments, large price increases since earlier estimates on the justice campus, and funding constraints that leave roughly 62% of the listed projects currently unfunded.

Rick Aurora, the city’s CIP presenter, told commissioners the six‑year CIP is a planning document that identifies projects (usually capital items of $100,000 or more), anticipated funding sources and timing, but does not itself appropriate funds. Departments submitted projects across police, fire, power and light, parks and recreation, municipal services, health and human services, and technology services. Annual funding needs noted in the presentation exceed typical years — staff showed about $252 million identified for the next fiscal year and nearly $355 million for the following year of anticipated project costs.

Justice campus and police facilities: Deputy Chief Pearson outlined the large justice campus proposal, which staff now estimate at roughly $123 million. Commissioners asked why the earlier 2017 estimate of about $42 million had increased. Pearson said the project scope expanded — court functions…