Roughly halfway through the budget year, the county commissioners are reevaluating capital projects and considering where funds could be moved around and whether projects that were initially put off can now be moved forward.
Amid general discussions of adding additional capital projects to the budget during their December 3 meeting, the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners approved a budget amendment moving money out of the capital reserve fund and approved a $4.6 million project to replace and upgrade air handling units and rooftop units at the Sweetwater County Detention Center.
The budget amendment approved by the commissioners was a decision to move $164,555 out of the capital reserve fund set up by the county and increase the capital budget appropriation for the Sweetwater Events Complex. These funds are to cover the purchase of a wheel loader for the Events Complex, which was discussed and approved during the November 19 commission meeting. Events Complex Executive Director Kandi Pendleton explained that the equipment is something they wanted to purchase previously but were told they couldn't because of budget restraints, but is something that will be used regularly. The purchase, and the subsequent budget amendment, were both approved 4-1, with Chairman Keaton West voting "no" both times, expressing his support for the Events Complex but his belief that the purchase didn't go through the proper process, including going to the county's Capital Committee first.
Another project that was presented by the Capital Committee directly to the commissioners was the Sweetwater County Detention Center RTU-AHU replacement and upgrade project. Public Works Director Gene Legerski explained that the project to replace HVAC rooftop units (RHU) and air handling units (AHU) at the detention center was considered the highest priority of all the capital projects for the county.
"That project is first and foremost," he said.
The RTU-AHU project was initially budgeted at $1.8 million, according to Legerski, but that was based on thinking that carrier parts on the units could simply be replaced or repaired. After further inspection, it was decided that it would be better to replace the full units. There are three AHUs that cost about $600,000 each, and 17 RHUs at roughly $45,000 each. Legerski explained that they considered replacing the units in phases over time, but the communication and wiring between old and new units would be difficult and costly, and the old units are at their lifespan limit and he didn't want to risk old units malfunctioning or even exploding.
After putting the project out for bid in November, the county only had one bidder, which Legerski said is common with big mechanical and electrical projects in Southwest Wyoming. The commissioners voted to award the project to the one bidder, Vaughn's Plumbing and Heating, in the amount of $4,610,915. Chairman West recused himself from the vote to avoid a conflict of interest.
Concerning funding for the capital project, County Grants Manager Krisena Marchal spoke to the commissioners to explain that the county has options for how to break up the cost of the project and fund it from different sources over time. She explained that the Capital Committee identified $100,000 budgeted for Fiscal year 2025 projects that are now closed, so that funding can be transferred over. There is also roughly $1.8 million remaining in the county's capital reserve fund, and the county has $3,554,110 in ARPA PILT (American Rescue Plan Act Payment in Lieu of Taxes) funding.
Considering what funding is available for capital projects like the RTU-AHU project, and what funding may still be available to cover other needs, the Capital Committee also wanted to have a discussion with the commissioners to consider adding additional capital projects to this year's budget. Legerski, Marchal, and Accounting Specialist Rebecca Romero, who are all members of the Capital Committee, spoke with the commissioners about the possibility of funding other projects as well.
"We felt it was a good thing to get in front of you guys to see if you would like to spend additional money that was taken out of the budget because of budget constraints that weren't known," Legerski explained.
Legerski pointed out that recent decisions by the county to expend some capital, as well as updates indicating the county may have more money to spend, made the Capital Committee want to reconsider some projects. One such recent development was the update from the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport, explaining that the terminal project will be funded from other sources and not need to rely on money from the county. When the budget was set, the commissioners held off on certain capital projects because of uncertainty over whether funds would be available. Now that the county can see where things stand mid-fiscal year, they can reevaluate capital spending as well.
In order to see where things stand, Legerski provided the commissioners with a list of capital projects, which included information on which projects had been put off and which the capital committee considered to be priorities.
"Of course we'd like to fund everything," Legerski said, but he added "we understand there's budget constraints."
Romero also spoke to the commissioners to summarize funding around projects that have been closed, projects still in place, and projects that were previously approved. Marchal also pointed out that the county still has money that was set aside in the capital reserve funds, and the ARPA PILT funding.
Several commissioners agreed that now is a good time to begin looking back at projects that were put off when the budget was less certain and to reevaluate what can be done now.
"The question is, how much money do we think we have available right now to re-budget toward additional capital expenses?" Commissioner Island Richards asked. "And then we can decide, if there is money then we can re-budget to that, where do we spend it?"
Commissioner Robb Slaughter expressed his mixed feelings on the topic, noting that the intent was to come back to projects later in the budget year with more concrete numbers, but also the need for prudence.
"Looking at our markets moving forward, I'm somewhat concerned," he said. "With layoffs that have taken place at Genesis and the price of trona being down, I'm somewhat afraid of where our valuation could be next year."
Commissioner Taylor Jones noted that it is also better to plan for smaller amounts to begin with and go from there, rather than plan for a larger amount and have to scale back.
"It's easier to spend more than it is to cut," he pointed out.
Commissioner Richards also expressed his hesitance to rely too much on the capital reserves fund, since the original intention for the fund was to have money set aside for long-term planning and addressing larger capital needs in the future.
"I think we have more money in our general reserve funds than we anticipated, and I would look to spend there first if we have additional available funds there," Richards said.
While agreeing on a desire for prudence, the commissioners agreed that it would be beneficial to start with a goal of putting $500,000 toward capital projects and to have the Capital Committee present a list of prioritized projects that could be accomplished with that amount.
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