Committee reviews $10M in preliminary CIP requests; rolling stock, body cameras and large Highway paver highlighted

Marathon County staff gave the committee an initial, unfunded five‑year CIP request list and highlighted several projects that may be prioritized as budget planning proceeds.

Chris (capital/facilities staff) said departments submitted requests and prioritized them; after staff and the administrator review his list totaled roughly $10 million when a separate highway reserve item is excluded. Rolling stock and recurring equipment requests account for about 27% of that total, with highway and IT (CCITC) items forming roughly half of overall requests when included.

Highlighted items and context offered by staff included: - Rolling stock: A sheriff’s fleet management program is underway; vehicle prices and inflation are influencing replacement timing and budgets. Staff modeled CPI averages and used assumptions (including a 3% annual escalation) while acknowledging market volatility. - Highway paver: A large paver request is currently planned to be funded from the highway reserve and was separated from ongoing rolling‑stock calculations because of its size. - Sheriff’s body cameras/tasers/video storage: A new recurring subscription and third‑party storage request was added after RFP responses came back substantially higher than prior contract estimates; staff will meet with the sheriff’s office to refine details and present cost options. - Superion replacement: A large software replacement was noted for possible 2027 timing (roughly $3.5M in the projection) and will be reviewed with IT and law enforcement before final scheduling. - Facilities and HVAC: A future chiller replacement was noted; industry shifts to new refrigerants may require broader equipment replacement and could raise costs, though moving work earlier could save money by avoiding later retrofits. - Election equipment: County clerk forecasted potential tabulator/election equipment needs; staff asked departments to include infrequent but predictable capital requests in the CIP forecast. - Ice arena and Marathon Park improvements: Larger policy decisions and the county’s role in ice arena improvements may affect whether corresponding CIP requests proceed.

Staff emphasized these are initial requests, not funded projects. Committee members asked for inflation indexing on recurring categories (parking lots, playgrounds, rolling stock), recommended early discussions with joint venture partners on leachate/reverse‑osmosis treatment costs, and asked for more detail on park design line items. Staff said funding availability will be determined in August and further prioritization will follow administrator review.

The committee did not take action to fund any projects and directed staff to return with additional detail and funding scenarios as the budget process advances.