Mill Creek considers fix-up list for streets, parks

MILL CREEK — The city is considering a number of projects over the next several years, including sprucing up the city’s police department, improving major intersections and smoothing streets.

A committee of city staffers, council members and planning commissioners presented its recommendations to the City Council last month.

A public hearing to adopt the plan is Tuesday. The list of projects is at www.cityofmillcreek.com.

Public works director Tom Gathmann likened the plan to an ongoing process.

“The (capital facilities plan) is not a ‘start from scratch’ document each time, but rather a moving seven-year window for a much longer time period,” Gathmann wrote in an e-mail.

The capital facility plan looks at projects related to transportation, parks, drainage and facilities. The plan also identifies funding sources and how much funding will be earmarked toward the projects per year.

For the 2011-17 plan, the committee proposed 42 projects totaling $35.6 million. The list was whittled down from 69 projects valued at $69.7 million, with some projects cut entirely or reduced in scope or budget.

The proposed list breaks down as:

$19.5 million for 23 transportation projects;

$10.6 million for six facilities projects;

$3 million for seven parks projects;

$2.5 million for six surface water projects.

Projects for 2011-12 include $850,000 for pavement preservation, $550,000 to improve the 164th Street SW and Highway 527 intersection and $150,000 for roadway repairs along 35th Avenue SE.

Gathmann said these projects were chosen based on funding availability, progress in the current facilities plan and how they fit with related projects.

Projects estimated to cost $1 million or more include E. Gateway Village Road improvements ($9.25 million), pavement preservation ($4.85 million) and an improved police station ($4.4 million).

Gathmann said while compiling the list of recommended projects, funding was a main challenge.

“Many good projects did not get funded because there is simply not enough money,” he said.