MARSHFIELD, WI (WSAU-WDLB) — The city of Marshfield would borrow 17-million dollars over the next five years for major projects, under a plan approved Tuesday night.
The Common Council voted unanimously to adopt the city’s Capital Improvement Program, which is a five-year plan updated annually that spells out where the city will invest in major projects or upgrades–things like major street projects and building maintenance, along with improvement projects related to parks and recreation, community development public safety, stormwater management, and the airport.
Funding for CIP projects comes from things like property tax levy, hotel room taxes, federal and state revenues, and any grants or donations. But the lion’s share comes from borrowing, and the city’s goal was to limit that to three-point-three million in each of the first two years of the new plan.
But City Administrator Steve Barg told the Council last night a major need has popped up at the UW campus, and that project will have to get bumped up by two years. “A 200-ton chiller that cools most of the west half of the campus. And they were hopeful that it would make it until 2024. They’ll be lucky if it makes it to 2022,”.
Barg said the change means an additional 90-thousand dollars in borrowing next year, but a reduction by the same amount in 2024. Nearly one-third of the total 35-point-nine million-dollar CIP budget, or 10-point-two million, is earmarked for the city’s asphalt paving program–including one-point-seven million next year.
