ORANGE PARK – Excess cash from financial changes last year allowed council members to use part of a more than $938,000 nest egg to approve major discretionary projects as part of its five-year Capital Improvement Plan Tuesday.

The projects range from long brushed off necessities to new recreational opportunities for town residents.

Funding for the projects will come from the available fund balance the council has been hesitant to touch for discretionary spending much over the last few years. The unused funds – roughly $393,000 – will rollover into next year’s available fund balance.

By the time the plan had come to a vote, council amendments to the town’s proposed plan read more like a wish list than a fix list as it had in years prior.

In the larger picture of municipal government, capital improvement plans are a necessary part of shaping an entity’s budget. Municipalities renew the plans every year for estimated expenditures with a five-year horizon.

Council members allocated $250,000 – their largest expenditure – towards the creation of a public pool within the town limits.

“The only opportunity our kids have this summer to stay out of crime is to go to the skating rink or get beat up at the mall,” said resident Eddie Henley, who was recently defeated in a three-way race for town council. “To have a community pool would bring [jobs] and give the kids something to do.”

Another resident echoed his sentiment.

“Once upon a time we had a pool and it was well attended,” said Hank Racer of Orange Park. “It was left in a state of disrepair for about two years, then money was allocated to bring it back up to code. They found it was going to be too expensive, so it was filled in. We could use a pool.”

The council allocated the money for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, so residents could start to see further movement on the issue in roughly a year.

Council members made other moves towards broadening recreational opportunities Tuesday. The council allocated $15,000 towards purchasing an unused plot of land adjacent to the T.C. Miller Park and Community Center.

Council members aim to develop the location along McIntosh Avenue into more recreational opportunities in the town considering its location to the event center. However, the adjacent property currently has a lien filed against it by the town.

The town would have to pay off the lien on the property, so in the end purchasing the property could take longer and cost more than originally intended.

“It’s complicated, but we’ll work through it,” said Town Attorney Sam Garrison.

Council members also added $25,000 to improve acoustics within the council chambers. Councilman Ron Raymond hopes to make public meetings more accessible for residents who are hard of hearing.

“I think our whole system just needs to be improved,” Raymond said. “The acoustics suck.”

Council members also approved $75,000 within the CIP to add fire sprinklers to the council chambers.

“There is so much paper and so much of our history stacked in places in this building, that God forbid, something went wrong, the place would be gone before [Fire Chief Al Barker] could cross the street,” said Council member Alan Watt.

Among other projects, council members dedicated $70,000 to hire a consultant who will map town pipes, outflows and inflows as well as examine the condition of the town’s storm water system.

Although unwilling to commit a serious dollar amount to the project, the council members voted to add $50 dollars towards extending water and sewer services to town residents who are not currently connected to those town services. The goal is to keep the project on the CIP without funding it so that it would stay on the council’s “radar.”

“If you want to talk about quality of life, what makes it any higher than running water and a flushing ‘John?’” said resident Barbara Davidson.

During years prior, the town’s need to resurface its streets overshadowed and helped silence much discussion of discretionary projects in the town’s yearly CIP update.

Town staff has since created a plan to update road paving and drainage over a five-year period. Overall, the town will spend $3.6 million dollars on this endeavor.

Fund balance increases and pension reforms last year also offered respite for the town’s often tight purse.

While some projects remain ambiguous and will require adjustments in cost, scope and timeline, council members appeared confident by the end of the discussion. Residents heaved sighs of relief and offered a round of applause to council members.