Manassas Park planning commission reviews five-year capital improvement plan; city flags water main repair priorities

City Manager Carl Cole delivered a high'level presentation of Manassas Park's proposed FY2026'FY2030 Capital Improvement Program on Feb. 12, asking the Planning Commission to review a five'year plan that prioritizes operations and required infrastructure needs.

Cole said the five'year general'fund CIP is in the range of $163 million to $164 million, with transportation accounting for the largest share. "A lot of that is transportation," he said, adding that transportation projects are often funded by external grants. He later reported that, across all funds and not counting debt service, the city is projecting about $206 million in capital expenditures over the next five years.

Cole briefed the commission on the city's three CIP funds: the general fund, water and sewer, and stormwater. He told commissioners the planning exercise balances "operating budget" needs that keep services running with "required CIP things" that address safety or liability and, lastly, discretionary projects that depend on available resources. "This is something I think we can afford as we move into the operational side of the budget," he said.

On the water system, Cole warned of recurring breaks and recommended targeted replacements rather than a citywide tear'out. "We've had 6 water breaks, water main breaks, since I've been here," he said, noting the winter had been unusually hard on infrastructure. He said staff will look for grant opportunities to help accelerate capital work in water and sewer.

Calvin, a department staff member who spoke during the Q&A, described typical failure modes in older mains: many original pipes are cast iron and were poorly bedded when installed decades ago, creating pockets of high break rates. "In those high break rate areas, that's where we focus these repair projects," Calvin said, explaining the city prioritizes replacements where break rates and year'over'year repair costs show the greatest need.

Commissioners asked about a glide path to reduce break rates and whether later project phases would continue to target pipe replacement. Calvin said phases 6'8 are focused on high'break zones and that future phases (9 and 10) will be reassessed based on measured water loss rates, cost'benefit analysis and goals such as improving ISO ratings. Cole said staff are still prioritizing which grant opportunities to pursue and will report back with more detailed contingency analysis at the next meeting.

Cole also flagged fleet management as an internal area for potential savings, saying staff will analyze whether long'term leasing practices provide the best return on investment or whether buying vehicles would be more cost'effective over time.

The commission did not take formal action on the CIP at the meeting; the packet and full slide materials were left with commissioners for review ahead of the commission'to'governing body recommendation schedule.

Votes and procedural actions taken at the Feb. 12 meeting were limited to routine items: the commission approved the meeting agenda (motion carried unanimously), adopted the Dec. 11, 2024 meeting minutes (motion carried with four votes in favor and one abstention) and adjourned at about 7:32 p.m.