Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Works topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public Works director Greg outlines $66.8M CIP, warns impact-fee decline will strain transportation trust fund
Summary
Public Works leadership detailed accomplishments and data-driven asset management, previewed a FY27 CIP of roughly $66.8 million across 43 projects, warned that declining impact-fee collections and credits reduce reserves, and flagged an expiring waste-disposal contract (July 2029) and a $10 million MSBU loan repayment plan.
Greg (speaker 6), leading the Public Works presentation, reviewed accomplishments (more than $20 million in pavement management over two years and completion of several road projects) and presented an FY27 capital program preview that staff estimated at about $66.8 million for 43 transportation projects plus separate drainage and signal work.
"We spent over $20,000,000 in pavement management over those 2 years to improve the St. Johns County road infrastructure," Greg said, and later summarized the CIP: "In '27, we're anticipating 43 total projects with an estimated budget of 66,800,000." The presentation stressed that construction and signal costs have risen notably (examples provided for signal projects and per-ton asphalt increases) and that fuel and material-price escalation is reducing the amount of work achievable at fixed budgets.
Public Works demonstrated condition dashboards (CityWorks, an ABL vehicle-locator system) that identify sidewalk distresses (the team said about 33,000 distresses identified countywide and nearly 3,000 addressed in the screenshot) and allow condition-based work-planning. Staff also described rightsizing vehicle fleets and a vehicle-replacement program intended to spread equipment costs over time and lower repair expenses.
On funding, Greg warned impact-fee revenue has trended downward and that state changes allowing shareable credits among developers have reduced future collections. The presentation noted the Northwest zone fund balance is under $4 million and that, after earmarks and developer funds, just under $2 million of Transportation Trust Fund unrestricted reserves remain, increasing pressure on TTF to cover capacity projects and debt-service requirements previously supported by impact fees.
Solid-waste operations were discussed as part of Public Works: staff said the county's disposal contract with Waste Management runs through July 2029 and that staff will need to decide on rebid vs. extension in the next 6–9 months. Officials also noted an MSBU loan from the general fund totaling $10,000,000 with a planned gradual payback; staff said they expect to begin repaying roughly $1,000,000 this year, subject to final budget decisions.
Greg and board members urged continued pursuit of grant opportunities and scheduled a deeper Transportation Capital Projects discussion at an upcoming CIP session to reconcile project gaps, fund balances and long-term financial strategy.
