City staff used the workshop to walk through an evolving capital improvement program (CIP) worksheet and to collect council direction on priorities and possible new projects. The worksheet included multi‑year projects across roadways, parks, drainage, public safety and facilities; staff said project timing will depend on available funding and will be refined during the budget process.

Several council members proposed specific additions to the CIP worksheet. Councilwoman Elizabeth Rodriguez Ross asked staff to consider moving reconstruction of Fire Station 5 earlier in the schedule and to evaluate the station’s footprint and response‑time impacts; she also requested that Blackwood Park be considered for a larger redevelopment with playground, pavilion, restroom and parking improvements. Council members also discussed a proposed citywide camera program to increase public‑space monitoring and an initial rough cost estimate of about $3 million to begin systemwide deployment.

Why it matters: the workshop is part of a new CIP preparation approach intended to give council more policy input before budget hearings. Councilmembers repeatedly returned to streets funding as the council’s highest ongoing priority and pressed staff to recommend spending levels that balance residential pavement preservation against major corridor improvements and other capital needs.

Costs, tradeoffs and timing: directors and the city manager told council that major corridor projects (for example Lawson Road and Lucas Boulevard segments) can be multi‑year, high‑cost items (Lawson was discussed as a project with an approximate multi‑year cost cited in the presentation) and that larger park or camera programs would compete with recurring residential pavement funding of roughly the $8–10 million per year staff said would be needed to stabilize network conditions. Council members generally said high‑priority capital needs should be identified now so staff can look for grants, alternative funding and partnerships and present funding options during the July budget schedule.

Next steps: staff will gather additional board input (4B, Parks & Recreation), refine project cost estimates, check grant possibilities for camera, park and corridor work, and return with funding scenarios for FY2025‑26. No projects were approved at the workshop; council directed staff to propose prioritized packages that can be evaluated alongside the upcoming budget and bond options.