Possible revisions to the City of Carlsbad’s Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) continued this week as City Councilors provided input on the five-year project planning guide.
City of Carlsbad Municipal Services Director Angie Barrios-Testa said staffers reviewed last year’s ICIP which ran from fiscal year 2022 through 2026.
The proposed ICIP starts in fiscal year 2023 and runs through 2027. Fifty-two municipal and five senior citizens facility projects were part of the proposal, read City Council documents.
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Estimated cost of the projects for the five-year period was $163 million, per the proposed ICIP.
The top item on the list was waterline replacements for the City of Carlsbad’s Double Eagle Water System, read the ICIP.
To date, $500,000 was set aside to plan, construct, design and replace existing waterlines in the Double Eagle well fields. The City sought an additional $4.5 million for project completion, read the ICIP.
The City requested $1.5 million in fiscal year’s 2023, 2024 and 2025, the ICIP indicated.
The Double Eagle Water System was located 30 miles northeast of Carlsbad, read the city’s website.
Second on the proposed list was an $11.5 million bridge and bike lanes at Boyd Drive and Radio Boulevard. So far, the City secured $100,000 and an additional $1.36 million for fiscal year 2023.
Another $10.1 million for fiscal year 2024 were requested to plan, design, and construct the bridge crossing Dark Canyon arroyo.
During a discussion on the proposed plan Aug. 10, Ward 4 City Councilor Mark Walterscheid asked why the City proposed to spend $350,000 during a three-year period to replace existing traffic signals with new ones at two intersections in Carlsbad.
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Walterscheid asked if the New Mexico Department of Transportation was responsible for maintaining traffic signals.
“These are traffic lights we would be responsible for,” said Carlsbad City Administrator John Lowe.
“Even though we have a lot of them maintained by the State on state highways we have maintenance agreements on some of those and those are our responsibility.”
The two intersections were not named in the proposed ICIP.
In a memo to City Council, Barrios-Testa said public input started in June and councilors had until Aug. 13 to provide input.
City Council would vote on a final ICIP resolution Aug. 24.
“The upcoming ICIP deadline to upload the project information to the state is scheduled for September 17, 2021 for all municipalities. The ICIP for senior citizens facilities is due on October 1, 2021,” she wrote in the memo.
More:City Council approves $500K agreement with State for work on Radio Blvd.
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said work on the suggested ICIP was a team effort between Barrios-Testa and other department heads.
“This process requires a great deal of time and effort,” he said.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
