Council directs staff to prepare RFP for citywide capital improvement plan

Planning and finance staff asked the Pocatello City Council work session for direction to issue a request for proposals (RFP) to produce a citywide capital improvement plan (CIP) covering roughly five years.

Becky Babb, planning manager, and Christine Howe, grants manager, described the rationale: recent grant opportunities and the city’s adopted comprehensive plan created an impetus to synthesize departmental capital needs, prioritize projects and model funding scenarios across departments. Staff said many departments already maintain multi‑year lists but that a consultant could consolidate projects, estimate costs, and prepare funding options and phasing to maximize discretionary grant opportunities and manage debt risk.

Finance staff said a CIP helps align capital projects with revenue forecasts and debt capacity; staff noted the fiscal environment following ARPA funding has created a need to plan longer term. Staff estimated consultant costs in the range of $100,000–$125,000 for an initial plan, with a likely RFP timeline that could begin in March, evaluate proposals in April and seek council approval of a contract in May so the plan would inform the FY‑27 budget cycle.

Council members endorsed the approach and asked staff to include an optional deferred‑maintenance inventory in the RFP so the city could see both new capital needs and overdue maintenance needs side‑by‑side. Staff said the resulting CIP would be updated annually in‑house during the budget process, while the consultant would produce the initial comprehensive package.

The council gave staff direction to prepare the RFP and return with proposals for award; no contract was approved at the work session.