Severance draft capital plan proposes park restrooms, pool and hockey rink

Severance’s draft 2027 capital plan would increase funding for Blue Spruce Park restrooms and add an outdoor pool and roller hockey rink to the project list.

Staff said the draft raises the Town Park Improvement Program’s funding to $550,000. The proposed Blue Spruce Park restrooms would be modeled on the southern restroom at the community park and include a shade shelter, concrete pad and concrete access, staff said.

Staff said the rink and pool figures were preliminary placement numbers while engineering and architecture estimates were being gathered, and might come down or become more accurate before the budget was completed. “I have put engineering and architecture for this project, the next project in '27, and construction starting in '28,” staff said. Staff said the council could decide by year-end whether to move the work into 2027, 2028 or 2029. The pool was, staff believed, a little bit more on the priority list and was being worked on at full steam, while the rink had been put back on the burner temporarily, staff said. Staff said the pool budget included $200,000 for engineering and architecture and about $8,075,000 for the pool itself; the estimate had already been described as low. The 2026 CIP Summary lists $450,000 from the General Fund for the rink in FY2028 and $125,000 from Park Impact Fees in FY2027.

The 2026 CIP Summary lists $17,500,000 in bonding for the E. Harmony Road Expansion in FY2029, $1,600,000 in grant funding in FY2028, $300,000 from the Transportation Fund in FY2027 and $6,300,000 from that fund in FY2033. The 2026 CIP Summary lists $8,030,000 in bonding for Weld County Road 23 Improvements in each of FY2033 and FY2034, plus $600,000 from the Transportation Fund in FY2032.

Staff said additional funding was added to the Water Acquisition Program to provide enough water shares for multiple drought years. The 2026 CIP Summary lists $970,000 for the South Waterline Loop, $8,000,000 for the Water Acquisition Program, $10,000 for the Cobb Lake Regional Water Treatment Plant and zero for Downtown Waterline Replacement from Water Fund - Impact Fees in FY2027. The 2026 CIP Summary lists another $2,120,000 for the Cobb Lake Regional Water Treatment Plant in FY2028. The 2026 CIP Summary lists Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant funding of $5,000,000 in bonding, $10,000,000 from Wastewater Fund - Impact Fees and $5,000,000 from Wastewater Fund - Unrestricted, all for FY2027.

Staff said a new police department addition was proposed for 2036 to make it eligible for impact-fee funding as development occurs, with the timing dependent on growth. The 2026 CIP Summary lists $125,000 from the General Fund for Police Department Building Expansion in FY2035, $8,850,000 from that fund in FY2036 and $2,000,000 from the Public Facilities Fund in FY2036. “So, it's not a certainty,” Mayor Matthew Fries said.

The 2026 CIP Summary lists total funding of $34,282,150 for FY2027, $20,859,958 for FY2028, $25,617,930 for FY2029, $4,571,577 for FY2030 and $4,100,406 for FY2031. Staff said projects outside 2027 were estimates of when work might occur and could be moved from year to year; only 2027 was being appropriated with the 2027 budget. Staff said the town could fund the 2027 design and engineering work listed and that funding balances would be fine, but staff did not know whether the town could fund the actual projects. Staff said Ayers, the engineering team, was working on multiple bids with architecture teams and that staff hoped to have solid project cost figures by the end of October. Staff said the proposed draft was available in the meeting packet, the Oct. 13 Town Projects and Budget Town Hall would go over the draft and some of the budget, and a final budget hearing would be held in November.