Plain City officials are considering 2021 budget changes that could divert more funding toward Uptown improvements.
Village Administrator Nathan Cahall presented council with proposed supplemental appropriations during Wednesday’s work session.
He explained that the “funding outcomes” for the Noteman Road project allow the village to consider other street or storm water improvements.
Before the 2021 budget was passed, officials proposed upsizing and replacing the storm sewer lines in the area, lining the sanitary sewer lines, replacing the water mains and a complete “mill and fill” repaving of the entire roadway.
Cahall said the funding requests were split between two sources. The village applied for sanitary and storm sewer loans from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and requested grant funding for the roads and water line replacement from the Ohio Public Works Commission.
The loan requests for Ohio EPA are still pending, Cahall said.
However, the paving and water line replacement portion of the project is currently “dead in the water,” Cahall said, as the village did not receive funding from OPWC.
He noted that the application pool in Plain City’s district was “incredibly competitive.”
“Our gap in scoring was one that we couldn’t have reworked this time around,” he said.
Cahall previously said the village applied for approximately $240,000 in funding of what was expected to be a $487,000 project.
Since the village will not be required to provide the matching funds for the project – approximately $247,000 – those monies are opened up to other projects.
Cahall said staff recommends bumping the amounts budgeted for Uptown improvements ($100,000), the public parking lot creation ($350,000) and repaving ($125,000.)
He said paving could be upped to $200,000, the amount budgeted in 2020, while the Uptown dollars are increased to integrate some of the phased improvements planned for later.
The expanded budget could allow for the design of a larger area of the Uptown, including either the north side or further west along the south side currently being planned. Cahall said that portion of the project could potentially be bid out before the end of the year, allowing the village to enter into a contract in early 2022.
Council member Shannon Pine said she would like to see the Uptown budget increase. She noted that in nearly four years on council, not much has been done to improve the area.
“I would really like to sink as much money as we can into Uptown improvements,” she said.
Council member Michael Terry echoed her sentiments.
“I don’t want to save the money and just ‘rainy day’ it,” he said, adding he felt it would be best spent on Uptown streetscapes.
Council member Frank Reed said he felt the dollars could be well spent on light poles or brick pavers, but wanted to ensure the village does not “move ourselves out of position” to complete the Noteman Road project.
Cahall assured him that the village would still be able to complete Noteman Road improvements in the near future, even if the proposed budget appropriations are approved.
He said he feels pursuing the OPWC funding in the upcoming grant cycle is “worth one more whack at the piñata.”
The village would receive a higher score on their application for a resubmitted project, Cahall said, and could request less grant funding with more matching dollars.
Otherwise, he said the village may be in a position to “foot the bill ourselves” in 2022.
Cahall said it is ultimately a decision of council to prioritize which projects they would like to allocate monies toward.
“There’s no wrong answer on this,” he said. “We have a laundry list of infrastructure needs anyways – there’s ample projects out there.”
Cahall also noted several other proposed budget changes.
Instead of using dollars from the 0.5% income tax fund for debt service, Cahall said the budget revisions propose using monies from the water operating fund.
He said the water operating fund balance “came in better than expected” because village staff purposely underestimated the number of new homes that would be constructed. Additionally, he said people spent more time at home during 2020, which resulted in more water usage.
Cahall said the village would still carry a backup fund balance in the 0.5% income tax fund “that’s a little healthier than a couple years ago.”
The cost of the general election, in which the Plain City Charter was passed, will also be added to the general fund. Cahall said staff initially budgeted $12,000 to $13,000 but should have budgeted closer to $25,000.
Following the release of updated public health orders, Cahall said the changes include an increase in personnel costs related to pool operations.
He also noted that an error resulted in only $1,500 approved for concessions, which should have been $15,000. He said it was “a good problem to have” because the village generally sees a high margin on concession sales, so the higher number will result in a higher return.
Generally, he said the revisions “mostly reflect good news.”
“We will be in the exact same spot – if not better – financially, come the fall,” Cahall said.
He said he plans to have a first reading of the revisions before council at their meeting Monday. There will be time for the personnel and finance committee to review the changes and submit its feedback to council before the legislation’s second reading on April 26.