Alexandria City Council members grappled with difficult decisions on Tuesday evening about which major infrastructure projects deserve funding over the next decade, as Alexandria approaches its debt capacity limits while facing $307 million in unfunded needs.
The work session at City Hall focused on prioritizing projects within the city’s Capital Improvement Plan — a $2.1 billion blueprint for infrastructure investments through 2035 that includes everything from school replacements to fire station upgrades and recreation facilities.
“What we are trying to do here is really think critically about how we would prioritize what questions we have and how we can think strategically over the long term,” Mayor Alyia Gaskins said.
The city faces significant limitations that restrict its ability to expand capital spending beyond current levels, according to Arthur Wicks, Capital Improvement Program Manager, who presented detailed financial projections to the council.
“We’re really limited on our ability to grow the CIP,” Wicks said. “So if we’re having a discussion about how do we introduce different or new projects into the funded 10-year plan, which is tonight’s work session, really this is an exercise in reprioritization, not additive, but thinking about what would we possibly take out or move back in this plan to fit some of those other projects.”
Council members spent considerable time discussing debt capacity. The city’s outstanding debt is approaching 2.5 percent of total fair market property value — near the limit set by council-adopted financial management policies. The constraints become most acute between fiscal years 2029 and 2031, when Alexandria will have only about $105 million in remaining debt capacity.
City Manager James Parajon stated that previous capital investments continue to significantly impact the budget. Twelve major projects completed or underway — including the high school renovation and waterfront flood mitigation — required approximately $1 billion in bond funding and will cost the city $33 million to $50 million annually in principal payments alone for the next 15 to 20 years.
The financial squeeze means approximately 85 percent of the city’s unrestricted capital funding goes toward maintaining existing assets, including facility maintenance programs, infrastructure repairs and school building upkeep — leaving only 15 percent available for major new projects.
The breakdown includes $240 million for obligations, $192 million for infrastructure, $163 million for school capital facility maintenance programs, $100 million for planning, and $75 million for IT systems maintenance.
Despite the constraints, the Cora Kelly Elementary School replacement emerged as a top priority among council members. The $105 million project represents the largest single investment under consideration. Fire safety projects also garnered significant support, with both Fire Station 205 on Cameron Street and Fire Station 207 on Duke Street appearing frequently on council members’ priority lists.
Councilman John Chapman advocated for coordinated planning between the Cora Kelly school project and the adjacent Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center replacement. Chapman also discussed 1703 N. Beauregard St. and Alexandria City Public Schools during the session.
“I think there does need to be alignment with a new rec center,” Chapman said. “I just think there’s an opportunity savings there” rather than “trying to wedge it together in two separate projects at two separate times.”
The session included interactive exercises where council members worked to construct ideal funding scenarios within budget constraints, choosing between different combinations of large, medium, and small projects. But the exercise also highlighted differences between competing priorities.
Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley raised questions about revenue-generating projects and expressed concern that housing — one of the council’s stated top priorities — isn’t adequately represented in the capital pipeline.
“I feel good about my list, but I also feel I don’t have enough revenue generated from them,” Bagley said. “I also found that from like a priority standpoint, probably the priority I talked about the most is housing, but that is not in the pipeline.”
Bagley also noted that some infrastructure needs are uniquely governmental responsibilities.
“There are certain things that no one else is going to do: build a fire station, you know, build a school,” Bagley said. “Essentially, the housing pipeline is a complex web of market and nonprofit and LIHTC and other factors of which we are only a small piece.”
Councilwoman Jacinta Greene advocated for increased investment in affordable housing.
“I would love to see if there’s a way we could build that back up,” Greene said. “But I think the one thing for me that I don’t think that we’re keeping as top of mind as I think we should and need to talk about is the income increase in affordable housing investment.”
Parajon reminded council members that capital projects require long-term thinking.
“When you think about CIP projects, particularly larger ones, we’re really talking about something that needs to last 20, 30, 40 years,” Parajon said. “So if the need is only a window of time, that probably represents an opportunity where you want to look at a different type of option for that.”
Councilman R. Kirk McPike and Abdel Elnoubi also participated in the discussion.
The Office of Management and Budget will develop scenarios based on Tuesday’s input to help guide future budget decisions. Council members will meet again in November to review staff analysis of their prioritization feedback.
The final Capital Improvement Plan proposal will be presented to the council in February 2026, followed by budget work sessions before adoption of the fiscal year 2027-2036 plan. Parajon noted that conditions can change over the 10-year planning horizon due to factors such as interest rates, grant opportunities and economic development prospects.
