Capital Improvement Program Third-Quarter Update Heads to Finance/Audit Committee

Pasadena’s Finance/Audit Committee will receive an update on the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) during its special meeting on Monday, May 18, with the Department of Public Works set to present the third-quarter monitoring report covering activity through March 31.

The report, prepared by Gregory de Vinck, Director of Public Works, tracks 196 active capital projects across the city’s infrastructure portfolio and provides a snapshot of where each project stands as the Fiscal Year 2026 budget year approaches its final quarter. The Finance/Audit Committee, a Tier 4 advisory body, will review the report and may forward comments, with the City Council retaining final authority over all CIP appropriations and project decisions.

According to the memorandum prepared for the Committee, the 196 projects are distributed across several status categories. Roughly 51 percent of the projects are classified as “ongoing,” while 16 percent are in the planning phase, 13 percent are in design, and 11 percent are in construction. Three percent of projects have been completed, and approximately 7 percent are reported as having “no activity” during the quarter.

The CIP covers a wide range of municipal infrastructure categories, including Municipal Buildings and Facilities, Streets and Streetscapes, Street Lighting and Electric Undergrounding, Transportation, Traffic Operations and Traffic Signals, Transit, Parking, Sewers and Storm Drains, Rose Bowl Improvements, Arroyo Projects, Pasadena Center Improvements, Water System, Electric System, and Technology Projects.

Among the notable projects in the report, the Central Library Seismic Retrofit and Renovations carries a total estimated cost of $204.86 million, with a Phase II construction contract awarded on March 2 and a Materials, Testing and Inspection contract awarded on March 9. The project has a revised target completion date of Sept. 30, 2028. Design for Fire Station 32 improvements was completed during the second quarter as part of the Fire Stations Renovations and Improvements project, with further design on hold for future fire stations.

Other projects highlighted in the third-quarter report include the Hale Building Interior Remodel Phase II, where construction of the Hearing Room was completed in the third quarter and construction of the Permit Center is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter, and Building Maintenance Fiscal Year 2026-2030, where planning for Building Automation upgrades continued. The Mobile Operations Center, with a total estimated cost of $3.4 million, had no reportable activity in the third quarter, with permit issuance and bid advertisement anticipated in the fourth quarter.

The report is presented as an information-only item, meaning the Committee is not scheduled to take a recommendation vote, but Committee members typically use the quarterly review as an opportunity to direct questions to staff and flag projects of concern. If the Committee wishes to direct any changes, those would be forwarded as recommendations to the City Council, which retains final authority over CIP appropriations.

The Finance/Audit Committee is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. on Monday, May 18, in the Council Chamber, Room S249, at Pasadena City Hall, 100 North Garfield Avenue, in Pasadena. For more information call (626) 744-7311 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas/.