Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther announced his proposal for the city's next capital budget, which totals more than $2.8 billion with more than $2 billion in new spending.
Ginther announced the budget Friday at the Driving Park Community Center to highlight plans to improve traffic and pedestrian safety along Livingston Avenue. The budget also includes new spending on parks, fire equipment and more.
Ginther said the aim is to end fatal and serious crashes in that area with $24 million in funding.
"For the families who live here, Livingston Avenue isn't a line item in a capital budget. It's the street they travel to work, to school, to the grocery store, to a place of worship and back home," Ginther said.
Other proposed projects include $21.5 million for fire apparatuses and $20.9 million for bikeways and sidewalk construction, replacement and repairs. Much of the budget, more than $100 million, is concentrated in the Department of Public Service, focusing on street resurfacing, the improvements on Livingston Avenue and new refuse equipment.
Ginther also highlighted plans to spend more than $13 million to build new parks on the southwest side to fill the void of McCoy Park, which will be used for a new women's soccer facility. The city will also spend $5 million to repair Barack Community Center after storms damaged the facility last month.
The city is also spending $13.5 million to reconstruct the Tuttle Park pool.
Much of the capital budget is concentrated on one very expensive project.
The city is still planning on building a new, fourth water treatment plant in the southwest area of Delaware County. The project is meant to meet demand created by new residential growth and data centers straining the water system that Columbus residents and several surrounding communities rely on.
More than $1 billion will be spent on the plant over the next several years, but the project may be delayed because contractors didn't submit any bids to build it.
"The cost of new construction has just exploded. And so, my job...is to make sure that we're doing everything we can to have great facilities for workers and staff, but also stretching our dollars as far as possible to make sure that we are investing directly into neighborhoods," Ginther said.
Columbus Water and Power Director Kristen Atha said the city is now meeting with multiple contractors, which she attributes to renewed national interest because no bids were submitted.
"We only had one local large contractor who expressed interest, to bid on a project of this size really takes a larger... a general contractor, and so we are reviewing the bid package and maybe shifting some things with the strategy of how we bid," Atha said.
The project was supposed to be complete by 2032.
Columbus City Council will have to vote on the budget. The full budget can be seen at columbus.gov/capital.
