Discussion and possible action to approve a budget amendment in the amount of $15,300,000 for the Lake Pleasant Parkway, Loop 303 to Central Arizona Project and for the Ashler Hills Drive, Lake Pleasant Parkway to 96th Avenue project, for the purchase of land necessary to initiate construction.

This advance funding is subject to paragraph 3(c) Right of Entry from the Peoria Innovation Core IGA. This provision allows for the City to request right of entry to begin early construction. To gain access the City must Deposit the appraised value of the Right of Way, which will be refunded the Deposit following auction of the associated parcel.

Lake Pleasant Parkway (LPP) from Loop 303 (L303) to the Central Arizona Project (CAP) is an existing two-lane rural roadway that provides regional access to State Route 74 (SR74) and the Lake Pleasant Parkway Regional Park. The adopted Capital Improvement Program (CIP) has this segment of LPP removed and replaced with a new parkway section with 4-lanes (2-lanes in each direction), a landscaped median, curb, gutter, concrete trail, concrete sidewalk, streetlights, drainage improvements, a new north-bound bridge crossing the CAP (south-bound traffic will be served by the existing bridge), water, sewer, reclaimed water, and other miscellaneous improvements. The proposed FY2026-2035 CIP contains a new roadway project, Ashler Hills Drive, from LPP to 96^th Avenue, which includes water, sewer, drainage, and other miscellaneous improvements. These two roadway segments are planned to be constructed simultaneously, leading to significant cost savings. As the entirety of land within the area is currently undeveloped and owned by the Arizona State Land Department (ASLD), both projects require the acquisition of land.  

The proposed FY2026-2035 CIP includes the two projects with funding programmed in FY2026. In an effort to expedite the construction, it is proposed that the land acquisition occur this fiscal year which will require the advancement of FY2026 funds to FY2025.  As such, budget amendments are necessary.

City Council approved the design, land acquisition and construction phases of this project as part of the adoption of the FY2024-FY2033 CIP.

On January 16, 2024, City Council approved a budget amendment in the amount of $2,200,000 from contingency to allow for the initiation of a Design Concept Report update for the Lake Pleasant Parkway, Loop 303 to State Route 74 CIP project.  This was a request to advance funding from FY2025 to FY2024.  

Staff recommends City Council approve a budget amendment in the amount of $15,300,000 for the Lake Pleasant Parkway, Loop 303 to CAP, and for the Ashler Hills Drive, Lake Pleasant Parkway to 96th Avenue project, for the purchase of land necessary to initiate construction.

If approved, this request will use $15,300,000 from the City’s contingency appropriation. The respective FY2026-2035 CIP project budgets will be reduced by these amounts to offset these costs.