Fairborn weighs $16.5M in capital work

Majority of projects will prepare city for future growth, official says.


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The city of Fairborn is considering investing about $16.5 million into capital projects in 2015 as part of its annual five-year capital improvement plan that is expected to be adopted next month.

The 2015 capital improvement plan includes projects for parks and recreation, streets, water, sewer, storm water, and the police, fire and IT departments.

The majority of the costs involve sewer projects that will help prepare the city for future growth, according to Pete Bales, Fairborn’s public administrative services director.

The northwest and southeast lift stations are scheduled to be renovated in 2015, costing the city $10.15 million and paid for out of the sewer construction and depreciation funds.

The $7 million northwest lift station upgrade was originally scheduled for this year, but it is currently in the design phase, Bales said.

“The stations are undersized for the quantity of sewage that flows through it,” Bales said. “As our city continues to build, both commercially and residentially, a complete renovation of the pumps is necessary.”

The capital improvement plan will be available for public review Aug. 18-29 at the Fairborn Government Center and library. City Council is scheduled to vote on it Sept. 2.

If the plan is adopted by council, the individual projects will be inserted into the proposed 2015 budget, which will be reviewed and approved later this year, Bales said.

“This is a very carefully thought-out plan,” Mayor Dan Kirkpatrick said. “The staff really put a lot of time into looking at what the priorities are for the citizens of Fairborn. Obviously, it’s a very fluid and dynamic plan that may be altered.”

The projects — recurring and new — vary from year to year, depending on priorities and available funding, City Manager Deborah McDonnell said. Multiple funds are utilized to pay for the projects.

Fairborn has two renewal levies on the ballot in November that are designed to continue to benefit the streets and police/fire departments without raising taxes. A pair of 0.25-percent, 10-year earned income tax renewal levies will be on the ballot.

City Council decided in a work session last week to remove $750,000 from the 2015 capital improvement plan that would have been spent designing the city's new $9.56 million consolidated public services facility. Council requested to delay the design until 2016 in order to focus more on economic development efforts.

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