New London — The City Council this week got its first look at a proposed 10-year capital improvement plan that contains a nearly $15 million request for the upcoming year that city councilors say is simply unrealistic.     

Financial consultant Jeff Smith admitted the city could only afford to borrow about $4 million for fiscal year 2017 but offered a document outlining projects and purchases that totaled $14.9 million. 

The requests include everything from a $500,000 pumper truck for the fire department and $2 million for a replacement of a roof on the Gam building at Ocean Beach Park to $246,000 for new police cars and $215,000 for repairs to basketball and tennis courts.

The highest-priced single item, at $8 million, was assigned to a city’s portion of a $40 million plan to fund renovation or reconstruction of the Harbor School.

“There’s a limited amount of dollars and infinite amount of needs,” Smith said. “The first step was to get the departments heads to say 'Hey, here’s our priorities.' The next step is you folks have to make the hard decisions.”

Council President and Finance Committee Chairwoman Erica Richardson said the council was in a difficult position.

“The numbers are kind of staggering. The plan I would like to adopt is a realistic ‘This is what we can afford over the next 10 years,’ not ‘This is what we wish we could do over the next 10 years,’” Richardson said. “Something’s got to give. I know we need a lot of stuff. We’ve got to figure out what we need most.”

The Harbor School project garnered the most attention, with some councilors questioning the plans for the school.

“The estimates of the number of students we’re going to have coming to our schools require that school to go back into full operation,” Smith said. “They felt they were going to need that school soon.”

Smith said the application for funding for the school project could go to the state later this year.

“It’s out there. I think we need to recognize it’s out there,” Smith said.

On Tuesday, the school district’s communications manager, Julianne Hanckel, said the school district has sights on Harbor as the fourth and final magnet school pathway, a leadership pathway.

A timeline for construction is unclear, however, and the Board of Education has not yet voted on the project.

In the short term, Hanckel said the school system is using a portion of a $1.2 million grant to renovate the upper floors of the K-1 school to accommodate the addition of second-grade classes in time for the next school year.

Mayor Michael Passero pointed out the City Council had already approved $2.3 million for sidewalk and road repairs, $600,000 for work at Osprey Beach, and he anticipated borrowing $500,000 for the city’s portion of $1.95 million in work planned at Green Harbor Beach.

He said his administration would work with the council to prioritize, but two previously approved projects alone total almost $3 million of the $4 million suggested by Smith as a limit.

Councilor Anthony Nolan suggested the city look harder at obtaining grant revenues and perhaps even sponsorship for things like repairs to the basketball court.

Richardson said the finance committee planned another meeting to deliberate on the proposal.

After the finance committee adjourned, the six council members present met for an unknown length of time behind closed doors.

The single-party caucus meetings are allowed by state law.

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay