Milford Police Headquarters
Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media file photoMILFORD - The city’s schools, sewers and police top the list of potential expenditures in the city’s five-year capital improvement plan.
The five-year capital improvement plan totals just over $190 million with education ($88.7 million), sewers ($33.5 million) and police ($30 million) topping the list.
Chief of Staff Justin Rosen said the plan was a blueprint for future capital expenditures, but was only a list of possible projects.
“It does have a hefty price tag, but this does not obligate the city to any level of funding or commit to any project,” said Rosen. “This is merely a planning document we use to outline areas we would like to improve in our schools, infrastructure, wastewater system, buildings, vehicle fleet.”
The cost for the capital improvement plan in 2021-22 year is $40.6 million; 2022-23 is $54.8 million; 2023-24 is $28.1 million; 2024-25 is $43.9 million and 2025-26 is $22.3 million.
“With all of the new revenue coming in through recovery act funds, infrastructure bills, build back better plans, it’s all the more reason to have a comprehensive capital improvement plan that outlines any projects we may want to utilize that funding for,” said Rosen. “This merely helps move the process along as we apply for any level of grant funding for these projects.”
Rosen added that the city compiles such a list every year. This year’s plan, which covers 2021-26, could be on the Board of Aldermen’s January agenda.
School projects were the big-ticket item in the education part of the capital improvement plan. The Board of Education hopes to see upgrades or additions to Harborside, Live Oaks and Calf Pen Meadow schools. Harborside, at $15.7 million in anticipated updates, tops that list.
For the police, the only item in the capital improvement plan is the construction cost of a new headquarters building.
As explained in the capital improvement plan, the existing police building was constructed in 1979, and the size of the building was scaled back from its original design to conserve costs at the time. Consequently, the building lacks space to expand personnel, equipment, missions or storage.
A new headquarters will increase the space in the identification bureau of the detective division to allow for on-site evaluations and analysis of evidence, according to the plan. In addition, the new building would offer increased office space, larger locker rooms, increased storage space for all divisions, and more.
When it comes to the sewers, the plan covers various projects from the planned Milford Point and Gulf Pond pump upgrades to repairing the roofs at both Beaverbrook and Housatonic waste water treatment facilities.
Other categories in the capital improvement plan were fire, $1.2 million; roads/drains, $15.8 million; bridges, $655,000; and $12.2 million for recreation.