JBC keeps controlled maintenance top priority as CDC list shifts projects and flags safety concern

The Joint Budget Committee on March 17 endorsed the Capital Development Committee’s focus on controlled maintenance Level 1 as the top statewide capital priority, while adjusting project rank ordering to reflect continuation needs and workplace safety concerns.

Senator Malika, presenting CDC recommendations, said controlled maintenance had ‘‘consistently’’ been top priority and listed other above‑the‑line projects, naming the Clark Building renovation as the second priority and highlighting a campus utility upgrade at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo.

The committee moved the Arkansas Valley Critical Living Unit renovation — a continuation project described by staff as the latest phase of previously funded shower/drain/toilet repairs — above a recommended new Delta fence project. Staff said the fence was a new initiative while the Arkansas Valley work continues existing capital renewal, and that shifting the ranking freed dollars to place a testing‑lab relocation above the line after members raised safety concerns. "We heard testimony around that testing lab that they're basically testing diesel fuels next to cubicles where people are working. We found that pretty concerning," the presenting staff member said.

Representative Story and other legislators described the long‑running gap between capital requests and available dollars, noting the state receives roughly $1 billion in capital requests each year while available capital construction appropriations typically reach only about $150 million. "Controlled maintenance ... allows us to touch a lot of areas you can't necessarily touch with the whole list," a staffer told the committee.

The committee also reiterated support for the West Hall renovation at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, a multi‑year project the CDC flagged repeatedly for above‑the‑line treatment. Staff said West Hall has been on the CDC above‑the‑line list for multiple years and that members had toured the site and the facade.

Committee members asked staff to follow up with the Department of Corrections and OSPB to clarify the operational implications of the Arkansas Valley work, including whether the current phase would require moving inmates and the anticipated cost and bed impacts. Staff said that detail was not in the original CDC submission and recommended the department present the relocation and cost information.

What happens next: staff will return with follow‑up information, including DOC and OSPB clarifications of bed impacts and relocation costs for the Arkansas Valley phase and any additional safety or scheduling details for the testing lab relocation.