Assembly reviews CASA/CIP timing and ARDSA bond project additions for 2026

Assembly members debated a set of capital amendments that would reshuffle CASA (community-focused capital) projects and add named items to area road and transit (ARDSA) bond tables.

One sponsor proposed postponing several CASA CIP projects by a year to allow a cross-area working group additional time to coordinate priorities, while explicitly leaving in-progress projects (Basher project and projects already in construction flow) untouched. The sponsor described the change as process-oriented — to get broader participation and to avoid locking in out-year projects without neighborhood consensus.

Separately, members proposed adding trailhead signage and wayfinding ($70,000 and a separate $300,000 downtown pedestrian wayfinding proposal) and inserting or bringing forward ARDSA projects including Tasha Drive (approx. $5.1 million), a redesign charge for Turnagain Street ($500,000), and doubling pavement/subbase rehabilitation sums in the ARDSA program to increase capacity for resurfacing work across districts.

Assembly and OMB staff discussed legal limitations on bond funding (bond proceeds are for capital improvements, not routine maintenance) and agreed to clarify project descriptions and terminology ("rehabilitation" vs. "maintenance") to ensure bond counsel and voters have accurate information.

No bond package vote was recorded during the work session; Assembly leadership asked sponsors to coordinate with OMB and to prepare any amendments for omnibus or floor consideration during the formal budget process.