Minimum of $4.5 million per year for five years being allocated
Auburn, Calif. — After significant cost analysis and evaluation of existing Placer County facilities, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved an investment plan that will allocate a minimum of $4.5 million annually over the next five years to build, renovate and maintain county buildings.
Following direction of the board during a previous discussion in March, county staff presented a framework for funding the construction of a new Health and Human Services facility in North Auburn; coroner facility; elections warehouse; jail facilities to accommodate a mental health housing unit, medium security housing facility and Auburn housing unit retrofit; Placer County Fairgrounds renovations and the first phase of the Placer Parkway project.
The board directed staff to proceed with budgeting for the coroner facility, elections warehouse, jail facilities, Placer Parkway and fairground renovations, but expressed concerns over the funding for the HHS building and a proposed new crime lab.
The board directed staff to plan for the HHS facility as part of the county’s ongoing Placer County Government Center master plan update and requested that they return to the board with a lifecycle analysis for the project. The board also directed staff to move forward with conversations around the possibility of the approved coroner facility eventually being expanded to include crime lab operations under a joint powers authority model, which allows outside agencies to partner with the county.
“While the HHS and crime lab facilities are desperately needed to serve the community, it would be prudent for the county to approach the funding for these facilities with a well thought-out approach,” said District 2 Supervisor Robert Weygandt. “I believe we are overdue for another economic downturn and it is our fiscal responsibility to avoid large amounts of debt and make sure we can weather another storm.”
The approved plan will commit at least $4.5 million annually to facility rehabilitation ($3 million), facility renovations ($1 million) and capital planning ($500,000).
The board also approved facility renovation funding in the county’s fiscal year 2017-2018 final budget for an Americans with Disability Act-upgrade for the board chambers, a remodel of the Assessor’s Office and a generator to ensure power to the county’s North Lake Tahoe administrative center during emergencies.
