A large list of major capital projects being planned by the city of Ceres was reviewed by the Ceres Planning Commission last week and received a stamp of approval.
But a new one was added to the list – finishing Lions Park when funding is obtained.
Each year the commission must review the five-year Capital Improvement Projects list to determine if it aligns with the goals of the General Plan.
City Engineer Michael Beltran explained that the five-year CIP list contains important projects ranging from street and sidewalk improvements and “quality of life projects” like parks, to a multi-million dollar sewer plant renovation. Also included is the replacement or water, sewer and storm drain lines.
The CIP also includes pavement overlays, traffic operation system upgrades, bike paths and interchange improvements for Service and Mitchell road intersection.
The Engineering Division typically prioritizes which projects are accomplished first but city department heads also come up with projects on the list based on citizen and council input. Ultimately the council has the final say on projects, based on monies available and its priorities.
Beltran said Ceres doesn’t have enough money to keep up with all of its infrastructure needs.
“That’s a foregone conclusion and that’ not a Ceres thing,” said Beltran. “It’s not a Central Valley thing. It’s not a state of California thing. It is a nationwide item of concern. And so we plan this out as best as we can with the funds that we have, so that we can prevent infrastructure failures.”
Catching up to that investment, he noted, will be “nearly impossible, but we will do everything that we can with the money that we bring in from various sources, grant funds, Measure L, SB1, gas tax, those types of funding. We will do what we can to bring funds in the door.”
Beltran explained that some water and sewer lines are as old as the city itself which means lines need to be replaced. The city tries to replace those lines before they fail and before roads are resurfaced.
“We do not want to put in a brand new road, have a water line blow and then have to replace more road that we just reconstructed.”
The city is also attempting to plan for adding streets now served by dry wells or French drains to the city’s storm drain system. He said that streets that flood after a quarter inch of rain are where dry wells are no longer effective at handling excess water.
At times a project makes its way to the CIP list with no identifiable funding source but hopes of future grant funds, said Beltran.
The Ceres City Council is responsible for selecting and prioritizing the CIP projects while the commission’s only role is to decide if the list is consistent with the General Plan; as well as suggesting deleting, modifying or adding projects.
Commission Chairman Gary M. Condit recommended that the unfinished Lions Park on River Road be added to the CIP list.
“Citizens who purchase those homes 20, 25 years ago were promised this is going to be a park and here we are in 2025 and it’s empty lot,” said Condit. “So I would like to see it added. I know the public works director recently stated at a council meeting that it would take $4 million to $5 million to complete that but if it’s at least on our list and maybe we can actively search for some grants, I think that’s one that I would at least like to recommend tonight.”
The commission voted 4-0 to recommend including the park to the list.
Beltran said often citizens will call for requests, such as to treat their street with slurry seal. While the city would like to slurry seal every street every two to three years to prolong their life, Beltran said “we don’t have the money for that. So we do what we can, where those needs present themselves, we make sure the infrastructure gets fixed where we can and we try to do a mixture of roads as far as maintenance, and reconstructions as we move through move through this.”
An example of a capital project that was ordered months ago is the resurfacing of Central Avenue, North Central and Richland Avenue, all which are currently being designed. He called three spots with bad roads and in some areas lacking sidewalks.
“Those are all in design, and we will have the funding to build all of those roads.”
A number of the planned projects involve water and sewer with the biggest being a wastewater treatment plant upgrade that exceeds $20 million and likely won’t be completed until after the 2030-31 year.
Another grand project on the wish list is a planned transit center parking structure to serve customers who ride the ACE train once it reaches a planned Ceres platform. Beltran has that cost pegged at $13 million and well beyond the five-year scope of the CIP list.
Road projects on the list include a rehabilitation of Moffet Road ($1.54 million), Crows Landing Road ($359,175) and pavement resurfacing in the Northridge subdivision at a cost of $1.5 million, expected to take place in the 2029-30 year cycle. The same treatment for Lynley Manor will cost an estimated $1.2 million in the 2026-27 year.
