The Turlock Irrigation District will budget $6.5 million toward the purchase and remodeling of the City of Turlock's former police station, according to a preliminary TID capital budget.
The $6,474,613 is budgeted to create a “Palm Street Operations Complex.”
“That's a placeholder in there,” TID Assistant General Manager of Financial Services Joe Malaski said. “If we do it, and we do any work, that's probably the max we could do in a year.”
The site is tabbed as a “large capital project with multi-year system benefits.” It is included in the Water Resources capital budget.
The former Turlock police station became surplus last week, as the Turlock Police Department moved to its new home – the $33 million Public Safety Facility at the corner of Broadway and Olive Avenue. Turlock has long planned to sell the old police station, part of a strategy to fund the new building. The city expects to raise $2.5 million from the sale.
The parcel for sale includes not only the old police station, but also Turlock's War Memorial and the Brandon Koch Memorial Skate Park. The skate park will move to Donnelly Park, per an Aug. 13 decision of the Turlock City Council; the War Memorial's fate remains unknown, but it is possible a buyer may lease the facility back to the city.
TID has been engaged in closed-door discussions with the City of Turlock to purchase the site since at least Nov. 13, 2012, according to Turlock City Council records. TID General Manager Casey Hashimoto has previously stated that said the district hopes to purchase the site to take control of the block for future expansion, and to reduce overcrowding at the district's existing Broadway operations yard.
In total TID's 2013 preliminary capital budget calls for $45.7 million of expenditures, the Palm Street Operations Complex being the largest single line item. TID's gas fields will see $5.5 million in expenses, and a project to meet state water flow monitoring standards is budgeted at $5.9 million.
The capital budget also includes a $2.5 million toward the relicensing of Don Pedro Reservoir, and $4.1 million for improvements to the dam and powerhouse. A further $2 million will be spent on expanding and improving TID's smart meter system.
The budget calls for $2.5 million in irrigation system improvements, and $1 million to create an Integrated Water Resources Plan to guide future expenditures. Electrical system upgrades will cost $4.7 million, while system expansion will cost another $5 million.
TID will spend $10 million in cash on capital projects, with the remaining $35.6 million to be financed.
