DATE:
March 7, 2023
TO:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
FROM:
Mohamed Alaoui, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) 2023-2028 Process Update And Check In Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council of the City of Emeryville receive the following staff report that provides an update on the process for the 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
Background
For the last forty years, the City has used the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to implement the vision, goals, and priorities of the Emeryville community. The CIP is a five-year plan that guides Emeryville's investment in its public buildings, parks, streets, sewers, and other facilities. City staff use the CIP as a roadmap to design, construct, and repair City facilities that support a livable and sustainable Emeryville.
Projects included in the CIP are large-scale, long-term investments that build, replace, or improve public infrastructure. The previous FY 2019-2024 CIP was adopted in June 2019, and included 85 projects budgeted at $91 million and supported by a variety of funding sources. These 85 projects were subdivided into eleven main project categories: Community Facilities, Facilities Maintenance, Housing, Information Technology, Marina, Pedestrian/Bicycle, Public Art, Sewer, Streetscape System, Transportation, and Vehicles.
Discussion
The new 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Program will build on the prior CIP and other long-term planning source documents that set specific plans and priorities for the City. Examples of source documents that connect to the CIP include the General Plan, Public Art Master Plan, Affordable Housing Bond Administration and Expenditure Plan, and the draft Active Transportation Plan.
For the new 2023-2028 CIP, staff are seeking an intuitive approach to make the CIP more legible and accessible to the public. As such, staff have proposed updated CIP project categories, values, and priorities. For instance, project categories will be consolidated from eleven to six new categories, which will be Community Facilities, Essential Infrastructure, Housing, Information Technology, Sustainable Transportation, and Urban Greening.
This discussion section will provide an overview of the process to date, summarize feedback received during committee meetings in January 2023, and outline next steps.
Development Process to Date
Public Works staff facilitated a Study Session for City Council at the October 18, 2022 Council meeting, and sought Council’s direction on the proposed CIP timeline, CIP Values, and CIP Categories. Since October 2022, staff have completed various steps in the CIP development processed outlined in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Timeline of CIP Development Process to Date
Date
Event
Description
October 2022
City Council Study Session
Public Works Staff presented and facilitated a conversation with Council Members about the CIP. This included sharing a timeline, as well as seeking direction on Source Documents, new CIP Categories, and CIP Values.
November 2022
City Staff Discussions
Public Works staff facilitated internal discussions to identify project and funding needs, as well as CIP values, with other City staff from:
Community Development (P & B)
Community Services
Finance
IT
Police
Alameda County Fire
December 2022
Public Outreach Campaign
Staff launched a public outreach campaign before Committee meetings in January to alert constituents of the CIP process and opportunity for input.
January 2023
Present to Committees
Staff presented at Council and Community Committees where members and constituents could share ideas for projects. Public Works Staff attended:
City Council Committees:
Sustainability (1/9/23)
Transportation (1/12/23)
Community Services (1/23/23)
Community Advisory Committees:
Commission on Aging (1/11/23)
Public Arts Commission (1/12/23)
Economic Development Advisory Committee (1/18/23)
Park and Recreation (1/18/23)
Planning Commission (1/26/23)
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (2/13/23)
Feedback from the Council and Community Committees
In an effort to create a comprehensive CIP, City staff, advisory bodies, and Council Members were asked to provide feedback on proposed projects in areas under their purview. Throughout January 2023, Public Works staff presented at three Council Committees and five Community Advisory Committees with the sixth presentation for BPAC in February. This section outlines high level feedback received from both types of committees.
Public Works staff presented at the Sustainability, Transportation, and Community Services Council Committees in January. While minimal feedback was received from Council Members and members of the public at these meetings, a few project priorities were raised. These included requests for dedicated maintenance funding tied to capital projects, an urban greening and tree planning program, and building upgrades for the Emeryville Center for Community Life (ECCL) and Emeryville Childhood Development Center (ECDC).
More robust input was received from the five Community Advisory Committees. These included requests for more street trees, improvements for people to cross I-80 to the western portion of Powell Street, lighting in Temescal Creek Park, and more electric charging stations. The Planning Commission requested clearer definitions of the CIP values, which included defining “equity” based on demographics of historically marginalized communities. The Commission also requested an updated parks plan that would include a study of new park spaces, including parklets and pocket parks. The Planning Commission also indicated support for bioswales, transit and human-powered modes, housing, and flexible funding for innovative transportation projects.
The Parks and Recreation Commission and the Public Arts Commission both provided staff with a clear list of projects to be added for consideration. The Public Arts Commission’s list consisted of five projects, with the top two being public art in the 40th Street Multimodal Project and a wayfinding pilot along Temescal Greenway. The Parks and Recreation Commission’s list included eight primary projects and three secondary projects, with a nature playground at the Marina and improvements at Stanford Park as the top two projects.
Feedback Survey and Project Priorities
With input collected from City staff and committees, Public Works staff will release a public feedback survey at the end of February asking members of the public to prioritize projects from a draft project list based on priority type and size. The previous four priority categories (Mandated Program, Preventative Maintenance, Safety Improvement, and Discretionary) have been consolidated and updated to three categories. Table 2 provides information about priority type and project size.
Table 2: Priority Type and Project Size
Priority Type
Definition
Mandatory
These are projects which the City must prioritize due to regulatory requirements and mandates. This also includes some projects which address safety concerns as well as preventative maintenance.
Discretionary
These are projects which provide value to the community, but are not required.
Active + Assigned
These are carryover projects from the prior CIP which are currently active with staff and funding assigned to them.
Project Size
Definition
Small
Budget under $50,000
Medium
Budget between $50,000 to $200,000
Large
Budget over $200,000
Attachment A is a draft of the public feedback survey asking respondents to prioritize projects based on their size and project type. This feedback survey will be used to prioritize projects during financial analyses throughout the spring, and present them to City Council. Ultimately, City Council will prioritize the discretionary projects in alignment with their annual goals.
Next Steps
The main priorities for the next few months are the public feedback survey as well as the staff budget analysis. Table 3 outlines the next steps before staff bring the CIP for final adoption to the City Council in June.
Table 3: Timeline of CIP Development Process Next Steps Date
Event
Description
February to March 2023
Feedback Survey
This public survey will collect feedback on our values and draft project list to help prioritize projects.
Spring 2023
Staff Perform Analysis
Throughout the spring, Public Works staff will work closely with Finance staff to perform financial analyses of projects, and will create a list of proposed funded and unfunded projects.
May 2023
Planning Commission, Budget Committee, and Council Study Session Staff will present at the Planning Commission seeking their approval that the CIP is compliant with the General Plan. Staff will also facilitate a study session for the Council Budget Committee and for the full Council in May.
June 2023
City Council Adoption
Public Works Staff will bring the CIP to City Council for adoption alongside the City's new budget.
Fiscal Impact
The City uses restricted and unrestricted resources to fund capital projects. Restricted funds include developer impact fees and contributions, revenues from other agencies/special funds, grants, voter-approved bond proceeds, and funds provided by the Successor Agency. Unrestricted funds include tax increment revenues, commercial transfer tax revenues, discretionary General Fund, and operating budget program contributions.
Staff Communication with the Public
Staff launched a public outreach campaign in December 2022 before Committee and Community Advisory Board meetings in January to alert constituents of the CIP process and opportunities for input. This outreach included posts on social media, printed flyers in City facilities, and emails to stakeholder groups. The CIP website also had an online survey that members of the public could fill out to submit their project ideas. In January 2023, constituents could provide input on new or existing projects they would like to see included in the CIP during Council Committee and Community Advisory Board meetings (see above summary under the Discussion section). Then from February to March 2023, the City will collect input via an online feedback survey to gauge input on project prioritization and on the CIP values. This feedback survey will help staff prioritize projects during financial analyses throughout the spring.
Conflict of Interest
None.
Conclusion
The Capital Improvement Program provides funding and vision for City staff to build infrastructure that supports a livable and sustainable Emeryville. As part of this study session, staff seek City Council input on the CIP process to date and proposed next steps.
PREPARED BY: Josie Ahrens, Management Analyst
Approved and Forwarded to the
City Council of the City of Emeryville:
Paul Buddenhagen, City Manager
Attachments
Draft CIP Feedback Survey
Study Session Presentation
The report was published before the BPAC was able to hold their February 13, 2023 meeting.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Study Session
City Council Meeting | March 7, 2023
City of Emeryville
CALIFORNIA
MEMORANDUM