Capital Investment

About this measure: DNRP invests significant financial resources into system improvements of the natural and built environment. The Wastewater Treatment Division is focusing capital investments on increasing reliability and expanding capacity of the wastewater conveyance and treatment system. The Parks Division has been primarily steering capital investments toward improvements in the regional trail network. Solid Waste Division capital projects have been targeting transfer stations improvement, while the Water and Land Resource Division has been investing in habitat enhancements and protecting homes and businesses from flooding.

In 2008 all King County departments were given direction for tracking the rate for achieving capital project milestones. Summary information about capital project delivery is provided below, as well as maps showing the locations of capital investments over recent years.

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Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD)

Capital investment summary

About this measure: WTD tracks accomplishment of scheduled major milestones for capital projects. In response to a county wide effort by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to track achievement of scheduled milestones for applicable CIP projects, WTD also reports this information to OMB twice a year. The milestones are the planned completion dates for planning, predesign, final design, implementation and close out of all capital projects.

2008 results: 71% of projects met their planned completion dates for major milestones in 2008.

2008 target: 75% of projects will meet the planned completion dates for major milestones

2009 target: 75% of projects will meet the planned completion dates for major milestones

Influencing factors: Scheduled project milestones entered into WTD's common project management database, Filemaker Pro, have been inconsistently maintained and updated by all project managers in the past. There have also been inconsistencies in the way individual project managers schedule milestone accomplishment dates. Therefore actual accomplishment dates for scheduled milestones have often not met the scheduled completion dates. New quarterly reporting requirements now prompt project managers to regularly check and update milestone schedules and log any reasons for schedule delays.

Strategy going forward: WTD is currently implementing a standardized project management approach based on Project Management International (PMI) standards. Increased accuracy in project scheduling is one of the key areas of focus in implementing these new project management standards. WTD project managers have taken training in PMI project management practices and will begin implementing these practices on their projects. This should result in higher accuracy in scheduling, and a higher accomplishment rate in meeting scheduled project milestones.

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Parks Division

Capital Investment Summary

About this measure: Parks capital investments in 2007 included rehabilitating aging bridge and trestle structures to ensure continued reliability, acquisition of new right-of-way to serve as future regional trail corridors, expanding existing trails to connect missing links to serve a greater number of users in the urban and rural areas.

This measure tracks the degree that capital projects meet design and construction milestones

2007 results: 62.5 % of scheduling milestones met

2007 target: 75% of scheduling milestones met

Influencing factors: Challenges associated with property acquisition and permitting slowed the completion of several projects and had a significant effect on hitting project development milestones

Strategy going forward: The Parks Division, and Facilities Management Division staff who develop capital projects for the Parks Division, will continue to seek efficiencies in the design and construction process to improve the degree of capital development milestones met.

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Solid Waste Division (SWD)

Percent of milestones achieved for Solid Waste Division capital projects

About this performance measure: This performance measure provides a snapshot of Capital Improvement Program (CIP) accomplishments. This is achieved by comparing actual expenditures for CIP projects reported in the King County Accounting Resources Management System (ARMS) with the projections for expenditures made at the beginning of the year. The target for this measure is for actual expenditures to be at least 75% of forecasted expenditures.

2010 Results: 68.5%

2010 Target: 75%

2011 Target: 75%

Influencing Factors: The main factor influencing the Construction Fund in 2010 was the site preparation for the construction of a new recycling and transfer station at Bow Lake. Significant work was also performed at the Houghton Transfer Station to raise and re-furbish the roof as well as to conduct other site improvements. Performance for the Landfill Reserve Fund in 2010 was driven by the phased closure of Area 6 and development of Area 7 at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill, as well as work associated with the modification of the environmental control systems at Cedar Hills. Results for this measure are below the 2010 target due to the forecast for the Cedar Hills Area 7 development project mistakenly not being updated from the prior year. This caused the forecasted expenditures to be much higher than they would have been if the forecast had been updated. Additional quality assurance measures have been implemented to minimize the risk of future errors.

Strategy Going Forward: In 2011, the Division will continue to modernize the solid waste transfer system in preparation for the eventual closure of the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. In 2011, the construction of the new Bow Lake Recycling and Transfer Station facility, which began in late 2010, will continue. Planning will continue for the construction of the new Factoria Transfer Station and is also expected to start for new transfer stations proposed for both Northeast and South King County. In addition, planning for the implementation of the revised Cedar Hills Development Plan will begin.

Technical Notes: As of December 31, 2010, using the un-updated Cedar Hills Area 7 development project forecast of $3.8M, the overall CIP program performed at 68.5% of forecasted expenditures. The Construction Fund forecast was $19.4M and expenditures through December were $14.4M, or 74.4% of forecast. The Landfill Reserve Fund forecast (which includes the Cedar Hills Area 7 development project) was $7.3M and actual expenditures were $3.8M, or 52.9% of forecast. The 68.5% program performance figure is the weighted average of the actual performance for both funds. Weighting is determined by dividing the total expenditures for both funds by the total forecasts for both funds. If the updated Cedar Hills Area 7 forecast had been used, the weighted results for this measure would have been 74.2%.

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Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD)

Capital Investment Summary Restoring and Protecting Waterways

Every year, between 25 and 30 percent of King County generated surface water management (SWM) fees are transferred to its capital program as part of the "pay-as-you-go" budget concept and to service the debt on SWM bonds. The SWM fees are used for constructing large and small projects to improve storm drainage, restore habitat and create or improve streams and wetlands. Capital funds are also used to leverage grants from other sources.

In 2010, we successfully constructed four large habitat restoration projects, thirteen small habitat projects, and initiated feasibility and preliminary design for several new projects. Key completions include Boise Creek Channel Restoration, the Piner Point Bulkhead Removal, and Des Moines Creek Channel Restoration Phase 3. The Boise Creek project involved relocating approximately 600 feet of Boise Creek from a channelized reach into a more natural alignment with access to its historic floodplain at the confluence with the White River. The project was completed despite the discovery of a large volume of creosote treated timbers during construction. The timbers, which required special handling and disposal, were determined to be remnants of an abandoned train trestle demolished and buried on the project site.

About this measure: Water and Land's capital project units complete work for many different clients both within and outside of King County government. In 2006, the WLRD managers developed a milestone measure to track its efficacy in planning for and meeting capital project goals. All projects include up to eight significant phases or milestones. This measure compares completed project milestone dates to planned completion dates to obtain a percentage of milestones accomplished on a quarterly and annual basis. Tracking of this measure helps management evaluate the success of the group at planning, managing, and completing projects. Monitoring on a quarterly basis allows managers to identify potential obstacles earlier and to minimize delays.

In 2009, the Capital Projects Section was divided into two separate units as part of a larger WLRD reorganization plan. Data reported for 2006 through 2008 represent project milestones of the combined section; data reported for 2009 and 2010 reflect the milestone accomplishments of the Ecological Services and Engineering Services Unit only.

2009 Target: Meet 70% of all project milestones

2009 results: met 71% (30 of 42) milestones. (8 of 12 milestones missed were delayed by lack of funding or at request of client)

2010 Target: Meet 70% of all project milestones

2010 results: met 74% (102 of 137) of all planned milestones. (At least 6 of 9 milestones missed were delayed by lack of funding or at request of client)

Influencing factors: Milestone completion rates are influenced by many factors including availability of funding, unclear and/or inconsistent stakeholder goals, unforeseen site conditions, public opposition to a project, and/or changes in regulatory requirements. In recent years, habitat CIP projects have also become more dependent on outside funding via grants and partnership agreements with outside agencies. Both increase the potential for delays as project teams wait for input or approvals from external partners and/or clients.

Strategy going forward: Section management tracks milestone completion to help identify and overcome obstacles and assure cost effective CIP implementation. When performance falls short of planned milestone targets, managers investigate the cause of delays, evaluate potential solutions and can take proactive steps to get the project back on course.

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