Capital Projects Oversight

The Capital Projects Oversight Program oversees King County's major capital construction projects. It is aimed at controlling project overruns and unforeseen expansion of project scopes, schedules and budgets.

Capital Projects Programmatic Oversight*
Continue to implement the model developed in 2007 for the capital projects oversight program by:

Working with the legislative and executive branches to improve policies and project management practices and countywide systems for capital project delivery including better cost estimating, schedule development, and risk assessment.
Conducting an evaluation of the results of implementation of the CPO model to date.
Conducting direct project oversight to promote successful project delivery and to provide the council with timely information on project scope, schedule, budget, and risks on the following selected projects.

South Regional Maintenance Facility (Roads Services Division)
Initiate oversight of the preliminary design phase of this estimated $25 million project to construct a new consolidated road maintenance facility on county-owned property near Ravensdale. Click here for the most recent report.

Facilities Management Division (FMD) Project Delivery Management*
A study of how FMD manages project performance and delivery. Click here for the report.

Accountable Business Transformation (ABT) Project Oversight*
Continue to conduct ongoing oversight of this $87 million project as changed business practices and new financial, human resource, payroll, and budget systems are put into operation. Click here for the most recent report.

Brightwater Project Oversight*
Continue to conduct ongoing oversight of this $1.8 billion project to construct a new wastewater treatment plant and conveyance system which is scheduled for completion in 2012. Click here for the most recent report or here for the 2011 Trend Report.

Data Center Relocation Oversight*
Publish closeout report on this project which moved county network server and other equipment to Tukwila. The project was substantially complete in 2010. Click here for the final report.

Criteria for Capital Project Prioritization*
Identify criteria that could be used to prioritize major capital projects. The criteria could further enable the ranking of projects considered for funding in the annual budget process, while also recognizing the differences and unique characteristics of each project and differences in funding sources. Click here for the final study report published on August 24, 2011

*Indicates mandated project.

Related information:

On July 28, 2010, Tina Rogers and Tom Wood briefed the Committee of the Whole on the Capital Project Risk Scoring Instrument. The risk scoring process represents a significant milestone in the county’s continuing efforts to promote successful project delivery and improve the transparency and accountability of the performance of the county’s capital improvement program. It not only objectively assesses the relative risk of diverse types of capital projects, it also collects important information valuable for continued oversight of those projects. The memo and presentation are provided below.

Capital Project Risk Scoring Instrument Memo (1015 KB)
Presentation (535 KB)

To read the Capital Projects Oversight Program Overview, click here.

Read a presentation on Auditing Capital Projects in King County presented to the Pacific Northwest Intergovernmental Audit Forum's Conference, March 8, 2007