Shortly after the city council gets its afternoon look at the 2011 Community Survey, where infrastructure concerns and streets needs top the citizenry's to-do list, it'll take up the subject of capital improvements -- those funded by the '06 bond election, the biggest in the city's history, and what's coming down the pike in November '12. Long story short: Once you tally up all the needed fix-'er-ups around town, from streets to parks to flood protection to libraries and on and on, the city has approximately $6,402,388,026 worth of needs. (A more accurate figure's due in fall as the city updates its needs inventory list in anticipation of the November 6, 2012, bond package election.)
The '06 bond package was ginormous, as some of you may recall: $1.35 billion. Problem is, years' worth of tax base declines won't allow for anything approaching that figure; says this doc prepared for this afternoon's briefing, "Very preliminary forecast is that next bond program will be limited to a program of approximately $500m to
$600m given current assumptions." But, as it says on Page 24, "the city's needs are increasing."
The doc's an interesting read for those obsessed with infrastructure, as, beginning on Page 35, there's a lengthy 2006 Bond Program Status Update breaking down every proposition and project, from the completed to the under-awarded to the on-hold-or-delayed. Which brings us to Page 65: "Status of Projects On Hold."
Among them you'll find the long-anticipated Alpha Road redo (a joint Dallas County project that needs to "be rescoped
because of infeasible ROW takes -- 35 parcels -- and parking and other impacts to
properties/businesses"), the Park Lane makeover ("Project limit to be revised to US 75 to
Greenville. The section from Boedeker to US 75 should be canceled"), $6.6 million in Dallas Farmers Market upgrades ("on hold pending decisions on facility management," referring to this), $8.37 million in Fair Park livestock and arena improvements ("the project will resume when the State Fair of
Texas has their portion of development funds in‐hand"), the $4.75-million White Rock Hills Recreation Center ("project on hold pending private fundraising efforts") and a host of spray parks on hold till the Aquatics Master Plan is turned in some time next year.
For starters -- it's a long list touching all parts of town. Wylie H., what'd I miss?
