Council forms project task force

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A task force focused on finding ways to pay for Santa Barbara’s major unfunded projects will be formed after the City Council gave city staff the nod in Council Chambers yesterday.
The seven-member Infrastructure Financing Taskforce will review the city’s current capital needs, budgetary practices and financing strategies, and make specific recommendations to the Council on how best to meet those needs.

City Administrator Jim Armstrong said forming the task force and examining the city budget and long-term projects will likely take six to nine months.
“This is not a quick fix,” Armstrong stressed. “I think good cities and well-managed cities address these issues before they become a crisis.”
Of the $441 million in projects identified by the city’s six-year Capital Improvement Program, approximately $146 million do not have earmarked funding, Armstrong said. That figure is probably on the low side, he added, explaining that there are most likely projects out there that haven’t yet been identified.
Among unfunded projects already on the radar are a new police headquarters, an aquatics facility, major rehabilitation of various park facilities, and transportation projects. Funded projects include airfield safety improvements, the airport terminal expansion, $30 million in bridge replacements, and $10 million in harbor improvements.
Armstrong said crumbling infrastructure is not a problem unique to Santa Barbara. In fact, he said, its infrastructure is probably in better shape than that of many other California cities.
“This is proactive,” Councilmember Grant House said of the task force, adding that cities not addressing infrastructures issues are “going to be in real trouble.”
Councilmember Brian Barnwell emphasized the need for new park facilities, which he said were designed in the 1930s and 1940s. City staff said most of the infrastructure throughout the United States dates back to the post-World War II era.
Councilmember Iya Falcone stressed that city facilities are still in good shape and unfunded projects are on a prioritized list.
“I don’t want people to think that we have structures out there ... that are about to fall down,” Falcone said.
With unanimous Council approval, Armstrong and Councilmember Roger Horton will start soliciting members to join the task force, as well as opening an official application process.