MARION — It’s been a busy few months for the Marion Capital Improvement Planning Committee, said Committee Chair David Janik.

Since November, the committee has ranked 36 capital projects that could be funded in Fiscal Year 2025, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2025.

This ranking is only a recommendation that is passed along to the Marion Select Board and Finance Committee.

According to Janik, capital projects are defined as having a cost of at least $10,000 and having a useful lifetime of at least five years. These projects are proposed to the Capital Improvement Planning Committee by town departments.

“It just so happened” that 18 of the 36 capital projects were related to the Marion Department of Public Works and the other 18 came from other town departments, he said.

This year, the committee ranked Department of Public Works projects separately from those proposed by other departments because Department of Public Works projects “have certain qualities about them … that they would always tend to outrank the other [projects],” said Janik.

Capital projects are ranked using a standardized form developed by the Marion Capital Improvement Planning Committee that looks at a project’s funding source, how the project is financed, and the priority for its respective department, he explained.

The top items on the Department of Public Works list include: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System compliance, which is estimated to cost $160,000; Perry Hill North well access design which is estimated to cost $75,000; and emergency generators, which are estimated to cost $1.2 million.

The most expensive item on the Department of Public Works list is a project to replace the pump station on Creek Road, valued at approximately $3.21 million. It is ranked at number four out of 18.

According to Janik, the total cost of the 18 projects proposed by the Department of Public Works is estimated to be approximately $7.65 million.

The second list included 18 projects proposed by other town departments including Sippican School, the Marion Council on Aging and the Marion Police and Fire Departments.

The top three items on that list include: A replacement cardiac monitor and defibrillator for the Marion Fire Department, which is estimated to cost $95,000; a digital recording logger for the Marion Police Department, which is estimated to cost $47,000; and a project to refurbish a fire engine, estimated to cost $182,000.

The most expensive item on the list is an $804,000 replacement patrol boat for the town. It is ranked at number five out of 18.

According to Janik, the total cost for the 18 capital projects from various town departments is approximately $1.8 million.

“This ranking is basically our unbiased review … it’s really to help the Select Board and Finance Committee make their decisions,” said Janik. “You guys have other inputs and priorities that you also throw into the mix that go above and beyond these.”