Below you’ll find a quick summary of how Decatur’s 2006 bond projects projections panned out, according to a 2006 vs. 2010 Bond Projection spreadsheet (pdf) recently compiled by the City of Decatur.  The spreadsheet was created at the request of the city commission to provide residents with a breakdown of how the individual projects in Decatur’s 2006 $16.4 million bond have fared financially.

The City Manager has contended previously that many of the larger discrepancies below are a result of going with “long-term solutions to address facility needs instead of making short-term renovations and repairs.”

Note that my numbers below do NOT include the “Funding Other Sources” columns found in the spreadsheet.  So if there’s a particular discrepancy that interests you, I’d suggest checking out the full spreadsheet first to make sure that spending wasn’t off-set with another form of funding.  (Example: Land acquisition for parks)

Legend = (2006 projection vs. 2010 projection)

Under-Budget

• Pedestrian Safety Improvements at Railroad Crossings ($450,000 vs. $370,000)
• Downtown Decatur Phase 4 Streetscape Improvements ($500,000 vs. $354,000)
• Land acquisition for trails ($500,000 vs. $298,411)
• Land acquisition for parks ($913,00 vs. $857,185)
• Cemetery Site Improvement ($1,180,000 vs. $59,875)
• Clairmont/Commerce Vehicular and Pedestrian Traffic Improvements ($100,000 vs. $0)
• Church/Commerce Vehicular and Pedestrian Traffic Improvements ($100,000 vs. $0)

Over-Budget

• W.Ponce/Trinity Bike Lanes ($175,000 vs. $288,140)
• McKoy Pool ($450,000 vs. $742,724)
• McKoy Pool Walking Trail ($10,000 vs. $0)
• Decatur Recreation Center Master Plan ($30,000 vs. $50,000)
• Decatur Recreation Center Design Improvements ($215,000 vs. $380,000)
• Decatur Recreation Center Construct Improvements ($1,800,000 vs. $4,100,000 – projection)
• Glenlake Park Design Improvements ($180,000 vs. $295,190)
• Glenlake Park Construct Improvements ($1,600,000 vs. $2,708,511)
• Improvements to existing greenspaces ($50,000 vs. $175,000)
• Fire Station #1 Construct Improvements ($620,000 vs. $3,661,000 – projection)
• Fire Station #2 Construct Improvements ($800,000 vs. $1,802,486)
• Public Works Construct Improvements ($3,480,000 vs. $8,600,000 – projection)
• Cemetery Design and Engineering of Improvements ($170,000 vs. $252,000)
• Cemetery Office Renovation ($0 vs. $337,000)
• Cemetery Woodland Restoration ($0 vs. $146,125)

On-Target

• Sidewalk Construction ($1,500,000)
• Wayfinding System ($100,000)
• Oakhurst Streetscape Improvements ($1,007,000)
• Downtown Decatur Phase 5 Streetscape Improvements ($420,000)