Capital Improvement Program

The Engineering Division is responsible for implementation of the City’s adopted five year Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which consists of a variety of projects to construct, maintain, repair, and rehabilitate the City's infrastructure, facilities, and specialized equipment.

Capital Improvement Projects are defined as one time projects that are not maintenance related, having assets of significant value generally over $50,000, with an expected useful life of five or more years.

The CIP is a plan. As such, projects are subject to change based on new or shifting service needs, special financing opportunities, emergency needs, or other directives established by the City Council. Because priorities can change, the CIP will be updated annually. Currently, the City’s CIP utilizes a numerical rating system driven by the City’s five strategic priorities of:

  • Improving the Built Environment
  • Public Trust and Accountability
  • Economic Development
  • Partnership Development
  • Fiscal Sustainability

As well as the following seven program priorities:

  • Visual Impact
  • Critical Replacement
  • Health & Safety
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • Savings to operating costs
  • Revenue supporting
  • Ability to fund

The CIP is classified by the following categories:

Infrastructure Projects

CIP infrastructure projects include storm drains/systems; street curbs, gutters, sidewalks, lighting, pavement; bike paths; and ADA retrofits.

Facility Projects

CIP facility projects include parks, recreation facilities, office buildings, IT/IS projects, airport facilities, and maintenance and fleet facilities.

Equipment Projects

CIP equipment projects typically include the replacement of equipment greater than $50,000 such as snow removal equipment, fire and police apparatus, generators, and specialized equipment.

The effective use of the CIP provides for project identification, planning, evaluation, scope definition, design, public discussion, cost estimating, and financial planning. CIP projects are designed to prevent deterioration of the City’s infrastructure and respond to changing needs.

  • A list of the CIP projects is included in the CIP budget adopted each fiscal year. The CIP budget is included in the overall City           budget document available from the Finance Department.
  • The City’s top Capital Improvement Priority Projects with descriptions can be found here: City Projects
  • Information regarding CIP projects that are currently out to bid can be obtained from the City’s Purchasing Department.

Pavement Management System

In 2007, the Engineering Department instituted a Pavement Management System to begin developing a structured maintenance and rehabilitation plan for the roadways, sidewalks, and bike paths throughout the City. A Pavement Management System is a database of existing conditions of the roadway structure. A field inspection of the roadway provides an assessment of the pavement distress. Distresses are then quantified by segment and a score is assigned. This score is known as the Pavement Condition Index (PCI). The PCI ranges from 0-100 with 100 being a roadway in perfect condition.

The Pavement Management System allows the Department to analyze roadway maintenance and rehabilitation needs at proper intervals or schedules. By treating the roadways effectively, the City can realize diminishing deferred maintenance costs and the public can realize better driving conditions.