Artist renderings of the City of Visalia's planned Civic Center project.

The Visalia City Council gave its blessing last week on moving forward with decades-old plans to build a three-story, Mission-style civic center a few blocks east of downtown. Most dramatically, they say they can pay for much of the 33-acre construction project with cash money.

The city’s war chest has built up this year to about $110 million, according to Renee Nagel, city finance chief.

“Can we afford that? Yes we can — assuming no recession” projected through fiscal 2024, she said.

The savings have been squirreled away in a civic center fund for the past 13 years. Most recently, the city has increased general fund revenue even as staff costs were cut.

During the pandemic, as industrial and retail development blossomed, the tax base has grown. Sales tax revenue has far exceeded budget estimates, according to an April finance report to the Council. Sales tax revenue estimates have been too low by 29% cumulatively over three years. Sales tax and property tax monies makes up more than 79% of the city budget. One aspect of this is that the city receives sales tax money from new industrial shippers like Amazon in the past few years due to a new state law.

Beside these sources, the city has a variety of public safety funds that can be used to help pay for a new public safety building planned at the complex — the most expensive single building. Add to that the American Rescue (ARPA) funding that all local governments received from the federal government to help offset losses due the pandemic.

 

The city still has $13 million from ARPA it can use for this project by paying for salaries that will preserve the general fund. Adding to that, when the city moves here in 2025, they will be able to sell a number of excess properties downtown.

The current city hall was built in 1956, replacing a Spanish-style city hall equipped with towers that is now the location of the Visalia Convention Center.

An immediate goal is to launch the construction bidding process to get a firm number for their budget. They also want to “buy” the land here that is still in the redevelopment agency’s hands.

Hobo jungle

The land at Burke and School streets was formerly owned by the railroad and has seen uses including ag, industry and auto shops. The open land, dotted with iconic oak trees, is bisected by Mill Creek but its out-of-the-way location made it popular as a former hobo jungle. It was a forgotten part of town.

The city began exploring development of the mostly empty acreage in 2002, receiving an EPA Brownfield grant to remove contaminated soil, completing the job in 2010. 

Development east of downtown followed the city’s purchase of other railroad land at Oak and Santa Fe streets where the city transit center is today. That move spurred private development as well as the relocation of car dealers to Ben Maddox Way.

By 2011, the city began seeking funds to build a park along Mill Creek near the ImagineU Children’s Museum. While the funding materialized, the park project has yet to begin.

Now the plan is to start construction on this long-held vision by 2025.

Visalia Councilmember Brett Taylor says former city councils saved up for years for this project and with cash in hand “it’s time for a new civic center complex”  that can serve Visalia’s council and public safety services in one location. The towered, expansive complex will look out at parkland to the north toward downtown.

The only building on the campus now is an emergency call center. Now, it would be joined by a new police and fire administration building as well as an evidence building. Eventually, a new city hall would be built where the public can interface with city staff using a 125-car parking lot.

This last phase would increase the cost of the entire project by $56 million. The Council is leaning toward not moving forward on this option for now, even though they agree it will cost more to wait. Some debt would have to be issued for this phase.

They want to wait for the economy for now.

Adding it up

The Civic Center land consists of several parcels that are designated 15.7 acres for government use and 17.4 acres for future development — totaling 33.1 acres. The extra land could potentially  draw other public uses including former Councilmember’s Greg Collins’ plan to build  a competition swimming pool on some of the land. Collins was an early proponent of the east Visalia civic center.

Here hare the estimated costs for the new civic center:

Council Chambers Building — $ 6.8 million

Public Safety Administration Building — $38.7 million

Evidence Building — $12.2 million

Plaza/Canopy — $ 9 million

Total — $81.2 million

Total Project Cost Estimate:

Soft Costs — $16.3 million

Construction (Hard Costs) — $81.2 million

Subtotal — $97.5 million / plus 10% contingency — $107 million

Phase 2 Available Funding:

Civic Impact Fee Fund, $ 8.6 million, projected thru FY 24/25 — assumes no recession

Civic Center Reserve, $ 73.1 million projected thru FY 24/25 — assumes no recession

Police & Fire Impact fund, $ 7 million, would need a 7-9 year General Fund advance

Measure T Police & Fire, $ 8 million, takes each fund balance to $7 million at June 30, 2024

Funds Designated for Civic Center/Public Safety total — $ 96.7 million

Additional Funding Options – Recommended

General Fund building maintenance fund, $800,000 set-aside before Measure N passed

ARPA (salary & benefits drawdown), $13 million

The City Hall phase (on hold now) — could cost $51.2 million, plus 10% contingency of $ 5.2 million

Total $56.4 million

Schedule:

PS&E (Plans, Specifications, and Estimates) — spring 2024

Bidding and Award — summer 2024

Construction — late 2025

Move-In — early 2026

Total cost: $165 million