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<br />City of Gem Lake Comprehensive Plan GEMLK 140643 <br />Page 106 <br />14.5.6 Future Capital Improvements <br />Projected future capital improvement projects can be classified in a number of different <br />ways to reflect the objectives of the comprehensive plan and the reality of funding <br />availability. A central debate revolves around whether or not the community should plan <br />for something if it does not have available resources. One school of thought calls for <br />planning only to realized funding. Another school of thought suggests prioritizing needs <br />(which nearly always exceed resources) and developing a program that can respond to <br />differing financing trends and programs. Establishing a realistic but extended plan that <br />exceeds available resources permits capturing opportunities when new or special funding <br />occasions occur. <br />Many funding sources are competitive and require long term planning and perseverance. <br />It is important to develop a comprehensive strategy that compiles improvement by: 1) <br />investment type (economic, development, parks), 2) priority (immediate to future), 3) <br />funding source (General Obligation Bond, Assessment, etc.), 4) or other management <br />category. The purpose of this comprehensive capital improvement strategy is to <br />continually match changing community objectives with potential funding sources, thus <br />assisting the City in determining priorities. <br />The current list of capital improvements, included as part of the section, does not involve <br />revenue source estimates or specific assistance in non-defined public assistance areas. <br />This allows the City to remain flexible in evaluating multiple potential funding sources and <br />selecting the best solution, given current conditions. <br />These is no absolute answer on the amount of debt that a community should carry, only <br />carefully weighed considerations relating to benchmark levels, community needs and <br />community acceptance. $ 900 to $1200 debt per capita provides a national experience <br />range benchmark. Consideration must also be given to overlapping debt from other <br />jurisdictions. Special assessments for street and water system improvements, properly <br />administered, are self-liquidating through special assessments or service charges. <br />Capital outlays are projected annually over the next 0 to 5 and 5 to 10 years. <br />14.5.7 Community Facilities <br />Sometime in the next 10+ years, an expansion of City Hall is anticipated. Depending <br />upon population growth, additional space will probably be needed for city offices and <br />record storage. The parking lot at the City Hall most likely also requires expansion. <br />14.5.8 Transportation <br />14.5.8.1 Trails <br />Trails have generally been installed as on-road facilities, coordinated with Ramsey <br />County road construction\reconstruction projects. Expansion of the trail system is, <br />therefore, tied to County maintenance development and road turn-back programs. The <br />City of Gem Lake has partnered with Vadnais Heights to construct some bike trails along <br />County Road E. Additional connecting trails will be added by Gem Lake as conditions <br />and finances allow. <br />14.5.8.2 Road Turnbacks and Road Construction <br />The road turn-back program was set up by a state aid program, to align jurisdictional <br />responsibilities of county roads. An amount of funds was set aside to permit transferring <br />the roads and sufficient resources to bring them up to standard.