$55M construction plan for Suffolk is approved

SUFFOLK

Despite complaints that the city is spending borrowed money on "niceties," the City Council on Wednesday approved a plan to spend $55 million next year on construction projects. Those included a $3 million community center in Whaleyville and a $17 million elementary school in the southern part of the city.

The two projects are part of a 10-year capital improvement plan that calls for spending $707 million through 2022 on public buildings, water and sewer facilities, and other projects mostly financed through long-term bonds.

Funding for the first year will be included in the budget for next fiscal year, which the council will take up in April.

First-year projects also include $7.1 million for roadway and bridge construction, $3.9 million for parks and recreational facilities, $1.8 million for a police headquarters expansion, and $715,000 for improvements at the Suffolk Executive Airport.

"Walking trails, boat ramps, and community centers are niceties that the taxpayers can't afford," resident Karen Cook said during a public hearing before the vote. With the economy as it is, she said, "it doesn't seem like this is the year."

Other speakers questioned the council's spending priorities. George Mears said he already is bracing to pay tunnel tolls later this year to go to and from work.

"I see things in this plan that bother me," Mears said. He suggested putting budget surpluses into a "rainy day fund."

School Board member Phyllis Byrum voiced support for the spending plan, especially the provision for the Whaleyville center, to be housed in the old Robertson Elementary School, which was closed last spring.

City leaders said the building would be used primarily as a recreation center but also would house satellite offices for the Department of Social Services and would serve as an emergency shelter.

Councilman Curtis Milteer, who represents Whaleyville, called the $3 million allotment for building renovations "the largest amount of money the city has incorporated in the village during my lifetime."

The long-range spending plan also would provide $42 million in the third, fourth and fifth years for a middle school and elementary school in the northern part of the city.

In other action, the council adopted an ordinance creating a Transportation Construction Reserve Account to be used to attract state and federal matching funds for road construction and maintenance. Money deposited into the account would come from future budget surpluses, city officials said.

Jeff Sheler, (757) 222-5563, jeff.sheler@pilotonline.com