Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Improvement Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee reviews CIP lists across departments, flags major items including fire rescue truck and police equipment
Summary
Committee members and department heads reviewed department-by-department Capital Improvement Plans covering the library roof, two rescue-truck chassis with $400,000 estimates, police taser and vest replacements, public-works equipment sharing, YMCA facility items, and water/wastewater maintenance projects.
Department heads and staff presented a comprehensive review of the FY25–FY26 and FY26–FY27 Capital Improvement Plans to the Finance & Personnel Committee on Jan. 12, 2026.
Fire Department: With Bjourn Beck and Finance Clerk Melissa Conner, staff said a rescue-truck chassis is expected to be delivered around March 2026 at an estimated cost not to exceed $400,000, with reimbursement to come from the Maquoketa Firefighters Association at delivery. A second chassis delivery is planned between December 2026 and February 2027 under similar terms; staff estimated the current truck's resale value at about $150,000 to be returned to the FD CIP.
Police: Chief Brendan Zeimet described a plan to replace tasers under a program that, including cartridges, is estimated at roughly $75,000. The CIP includes $10,000 for 11 officer vests for FY27; the committee discussed increasing that figure to $14,000 to add vests for reserve officers. Chief Zeimet also proposed a street-camera program the committee supported for investigative purposes only, not for automated ticketing revenue generation.
Public works and equipment sharing: Jon Hopson presented needs for a street painter, a second skid steer and a compact 'mini X'. Hopson proposed reallocating reserve lines within the CIP to fund the skid steer without additional General Fund support and discussed sharing costs with water and wastewater departments; Jennifer (Jenn) Schwoob agreed there is a contribution plan from those departments. Hopson said a potential new street sweeper depends on FAA airport-grant decisions; if purchased, the committee discussed using approximately $100,000 from a CIP line and delaying a dump-truck purchase.
Parks, YMCA and airport: Parks CIP items include new scoreboards and a grant opportunity for Horseshoe Pond's playground; committee members discussed playground surfacing options and noted rubber mulch is not acceptable for Horseshoe Pond because the site is in a flood plain. Scott Warren described YMCA CIP items including a Munters unit (large item to be saved for), replacement of lap lanes and starting blocks in FY27 (estimated $28,000) and lobby furniture ($11,000). Airport equipment choices, including a snowblower, are pending FAA grant decisions. Wastewater and water CIPs include manholes ($20,000), clarifiers ($40,000), sludge hauling ($30,000, biennial and subject to change), a used truck ($20,000), RAS/WAS/lift pumps ($30,000), three water trucks ($71,096), a reservoir pump ($42,000), and watermain repairs ($10,000).
Committee direction and next steps: Chair Collister expressed openness to returning CIP interest to departmental CIPs and asked staff and department heads to prioritize projects. No formal CIP funding reallocations were made at the meeting; the committee requested staff continue to refine costing, identify grant opportunities and present recommended priorities for use of CIP interest or reallocation.
The committee adjourned at 6:12 p.m.
