Politics & Government

Council Considers $145M in Santee City Projects Over Next 5 Years

The Santee City Council spent their meeting last week discussing about $145 million worth of capital improvement projects that the city would like to complete in the next five years.

The city said $92 million worth of projects are already funded and they would like to complete another $53 million worth that are unfunded. The projects discussed ranged all over the spectrum of needs and wants, from making sure sewage stays in it's place, to keeping the city's parks beautiful.

This is a big jump in spending compared to the previous five years which were riddled with budget shortcomings stemming from the recession. This jump is expected to be funded by a boost in development fees from projects like the Parc One apartments at Town Center and the expansion of Lantern Crest Senior Living.

The top project on the list, which is already underway, is replacing aging storm drains across the city to prevent bigger problems down the road.

The council also discussed projects such as upgrades and fixes to the City Hall complex and the possibility of creating a new fire station to replace the "dilapidated" Fire Station 4, which was described as "not appropriate for modern day housing for firefighting personell." The fire station project could require a vote at the ballot in order to secure funding.

The city identified park related projects valued at $19 million, such as ball field improvements, work on the San Diego River Trail and nearly $7 million in upgrades at Mast Park. Traffic signal upgrades and pavement repairs were also valued at $17 million.

As far as the rest of the budget is concerned, city staff said that a $1 million deficit is expected in the first two years, with stabilization coming about three years down the road. Then they hope to try to rebuild city reserve funds to the standard 20 percent through expected slow and steady growth in sales and property tax revenues.


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