The Pinehurst Village Council will hold a special work session Tuesday to discuss a proposed five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that totals $20.2 million.

The meeting begins at 1 p.m. in the council's conference room in the Village Hall. It is open to the public.

For the past several years, village staff has presented the plan to the council, which reviews it and then makes any adjustments. Village Manager Andy Wilkison and Assistant Manager Natalie Dean presented the plan to the council at a recent meeting, but there was little discussion.

The council could vote to approve the plan or just portions of it. But the actual approval of financing for various projects requires separate action, usually during the annual budget deliberations.

"Our projection of revenues and expenditures indicate the village is in a position to fund the CIP as presented with no impact on the village's current tax rate," Wilkeson and Dean said in their budget message.

More than half the items can be funded through cash set aside in a Capital Reserve Fund and through anticipated natural growth in revenues that have allowed the village annually to set aside unappropriated fund balances in these special funds for future improvements. Other items could be funded from a combination of loans and grants.

Several projects on the list for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2007, are not new to the CIP, such as purchasing land for and constructing a new public services complex outside the present village service district. The plan also includes a proposed $2.3 million recreation center and gym at Cannon Park. Financing is expected to be necessary for both projects, with some grant funds available, Dean said.

The plan schedules tentative projects with revenue and expenditure sources from 2007-2008 through 2011-2012. The plan for this year is 5.6 percent over the previous year.

Dean said two countywide property revaluation cycles during the five years covered by the plan will increase the tax base. Funds available at a "revenue-neutral" tax rate would generate more revenue, but without a tax increase.

Although the village would have to borrow more money to finance some of the projects in the plan, Pinehurst will still have a debt level well below the per capita average amount owed by municipalities of similar size in North Carolina.

Funding for the construction of a public services/fleet maintenance facility to replace the existing complex on McCaskill Road is estimated to cost $3.8 million over the next two years, according to the plan.

The new facility would combine operations at a new site outside NewCore district and would provide more space for needed expansion of storage and maintenance facilities.

The council plans to begin construction next year. The village will sell 6.7 acres at the old site, which will generate some revenue to help fund the project.

About 75 percent of the total plan is for roadway improvements and resurfacing 5 to 6 miles a year.

Proposed improvements include the N.C. 5, Barrett and McCaskill Road intersections; N.C. 2 and Carolina Vista roundabout and turn lane improvements at N.C. 2 and N.C. 5; and pedestrian improvements on N.C. 211. The work totals $635,000.

Five of the projects were all identified in last year's CIP. Those include the Old Town sidewalks and stormwater management projects.

Councilman Doug Lapins expressed concern about the council considering the CIP before its annual long-range planning retreat, which will be held later this month.

"I don't think we have dealt with the strategic issues facing the village, affecting the capital funds, and that's a mistake," he said. "Traffic, utilities, schools, are all the growth issues that will impact us, and we're looking at a capital plan before the strategic plan."

Mayor Pro Tem George Hillier, who presided over a recent meeting in the absence of Mayor Steve Smith who was out of town, said he hoped "we can get at least a general discussion of revenues and expenditures at the retreat. To me, the retreat is the beginning of the planning process (when) we say to staff, 'these are the things we need.'"

Lapins has also been critical of the proposed $2.3 million recreation center and gym at Cannon Park. He said the village and Pinehurst Elementary School should work together on this project.

Sara Lindau can be reached at 693-2473 or by e-mail at slindau@thepilot.com.