City's capital investment and construction plan for next four years moves forward

The capital budget is a 202-page document outlining funds and investments needed for a multitude of projects during the next four years. It has four sections: an overall plan for the next four years, infrastructure types, plan overview for 2025-26 and specific plans for each fund.

“We’ve tried to show you all the projects across time, as they’re planned,” City Manager Janine Jordan said during meeting. “On this map, you can see, plotted out locations of most of our street, storm draining, waste and wastewater projects planned and this is through 2028. … There’s work planned all across the community, from north to south and east to west, in pretty much every neighborhood. So I hope the community is ready for some significant investments.”

Major projects noted included: fleet acquisition, chip sealing across city streets, stormwater funding feasibility study, Ivinson Avenue reconstruction project, North 4th Street redevelopment project and the C-Line sanitary sewer replacement project.

“We did the PCI (Pavement Condition Index) evaluation last year and that was really helpful for us this year as we planned the capital budget,” Public Works Director Brooks Webb said. “There’s some streets we flipped around based on that evaluation and some methods that we’re looking at differently. The study really talked about preserving the surface as long as you can and that chip seals have a lower cost. When we do a full reconstruction on a street, a block is like half a million, but a chip seal is peanuts compared to that.”

General Fund

During the next four years, the Public Works Department will need $879,936 to pay for audio and video equipment, an unmanned aerial drone, traffic trailers, cell phones, WyoLink radios, survey equipment, iPads, scanners, traffic signal updates, street network equipment, rapid flashing beacons, conflict monitor tester, paint sprayers, pressure washer, street and storm drainage, oil burner and heaters, larger rolling tool boxes and vehicle lifts.

“The fleet division is within public works,” Webb said. “We work across all departments in the fleet decision. Our fleet folks help with the right sizing vehicles for departments, writing down the specifications, putting them out to bid and then coming here and asking you to order a fire engine. Fleet folks also maintain all those vehicles, from lawnmowers to fire engines to bulldozers, that’s what they do.”

Projects the general fund will cover include: citywide storm drainage evaluation, citywide survey point improvements, stormwater regulations and design manual, stormwater funding feasibility study, Harney Street corridor study, ArcGIS implementation, traffic model update, cured-in-place pipe lining, street oversizing, street PCI evaluation and system implement, concrete grinding from University Avenue to Garfield Street and 1st to 3rd streets, Corthell Road corridor study and downtown street evaluation. The cost during the four years will total $4,656,375.

Capital Construction Fund

Also during the next four years, many projects will be funded by the Capital Construction Fund. The total cost of the 17 proposed projects will be about $15,898,546.

Most notably is the concrete improvement plan, Ivinson Avenue design and citywide speed study and safety action plan are included in the list of projects.

“(The city manager’s office is) working with the county and will submit the application, I believe, in early May or late April,” Jordan said. “… We looked at applying to this program last year and learned, through our partners at WYDOT (Wyoming Department of Transportation), that we would probably not be able to mount a successful application because we don’t have enough serious fatality or serious bodily injury within the city limits. However, by partnering with the county, we could access these funds because we do have countywide data showing serious bodily injury and fatality.”

Water Fund

Water administration, plant treatment, transmission, meters and pumps and well treatment fleet vehicles and equipment will total $1,124,000 with routine equipment and capital maintenance costing $1,658,025 during the next four years.

“The routine equipment and capital maintenance folks also identified a program that they want to take on, that being our annual manhole replacement program,” Webb said. “There’s many manholes out there that are failing and crumbling and so they’ve got them inventoried and they’re ready to tackle that project.”

The Water Fund also will pay for 65 projects that are slated to happen between 2024-28, with the total cost amounting to $87,602,065.

Wastewater and Solid Waste Funds

Between these two funds, there are more than 50 projects that will total to $68,233,931 with wastewater projects totaling $61,183,936 and solid waste totaling $7,049,995.

Projects range from utility surveys, sewer design and pump replacement to cured-in-place pipe lining, sewer rehabilitation and landfill entrance evaluation and design.

For more information about the capital investment plan, visit cityoflaramie.org/108/Budget.