The Austin City Council will hash out upcoming city projects to last the next five years.

At a work session meeting Monday night, the council will discuss a draft of the 2013-2017 Capital Improvement Plan. The total request is $102,706,387 for the five year period, which will be used to cover a variety of needs ranging from new vehicles for the police and fire departments to street improvements and new library carpeting.

City staff submits the CIP annually to the City Council for review and approval. Once the council adopts this year’s CIP, staff can begin to plan for the projects approved for 2013. Having the plan helps the city anticipate and finance its upcoming projects, and helps it to maintain its current credit rating, which keeps interest rates low on bonding for projects.

A limited part of CIP funds come from property taxes. Out of the $46.6 million going into CIP projects for 2013, a total of $437,000, or .94 percent, will come from the tax levy. The rest comes from investment earnings, user charges, outside donations and funding from state and federal governments.

The council will also have an opportunity to make changes to the proposed budget for 2013.

 

Other business

During the regularly-scheduled City Council meeting before the work session, the council will decide whether to:

—accept bids for three separate projects: removing fuel tanks from Riverside Arena and the Waste Water Treatment Plant, demolishing a building at 312 Seventh Ave. SE and constructing a tile drain system on 10th and 11th avenues from 18th to 21st streets.

—grant the Planning and Zoning Department the power to contract for the removal of junk and illegally stored vehicles from four Austin properties: 1009 Fourth Ave. NE, 1210 10th Ave. NW, 611 14th St. NW and 1009 Second Ave. SW.

—authorize participation in the shovel-ready certified program with the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development and allow half the cost to be paid through the city’s contingency fund.

—renew a Joint Powers Agreement with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to continue Austin’s involvement in the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce. The group works with more than 100 other state and federal law enforcement agencies to protect children from online sexual predators.