Not a single foundation has been laid in the Homesteads of Vineyard, but the town's already preparing for the "avalanche" of additional work the development will bring.

The evidence of anticipated future growth is obvious; the town hall has already been revamped to create more room for current and future employees, equipment and paperwork. Next on the list, perhaps, is a double-wide trailer to be used as office space for community development.

But, some Town Council members worried Wednesday night, perhaps the town is putting money into something not needed quite yet or limiting itself in its building options. There was also an element of surprise; the item made its first appearance Wednesday after Mayor Randy Farnworth and Town Clerk Dan Wright sat down and analyzed the town's potential needs through the next year, which starts July 1. Development on the Homesteads property, owned by Anderson Development, is scheduled to begin late 2006 or early 2007; builders are already contacting the development company to buy pieces of land.

"Once they start selling these pods off, you're going to have development in here getting everything ready to go, and you've gotta have room and you've gotta have people to take care of it," Farnworth said.

The budget item of $124,200 is not a will-spend item; it's in place if the need arises, Wright said. By having it in the budget to spend if enough development happens to warrant the added people and space, the town will be able to spend the money without officially amending the budget. If the need isn't there during the next 12 months, the money isn't spent. There is also money in the budget for three new positions that will be used should the need become great enough.

"If growth was to occur this year at an exponential rate, that is just one of the beginning parts of good planning," he said.

Councilman Nathan Riley said since the town knows the growth is going to come, the necessary facility should be done in time for that growth instead of in reaction to it, and it should be a permanent building that will continue to be of use as Vineyard continues to grow. The town could get to 30,000 to 50,000 people as the Geneva property is built out.

"If the avalanche is going to come, where is the rescue effort going to come fromfi" he asked. "That facility needs to be built at the very front end of anything else that's going on."

He was also concerned because the item was new and the council had to have the budget done by next week and so didn't have much time to discuss and ask the planners and the town attorney for advice. Farnworth defended his decision, saying he was glad the budget item was there because it sparked the discussion about the town's needs and how best to meet them.

His goal, he said, is to look ahead at what Vineyard could be facing and have the resources in place to deal with the potential challenges that come with building a town.

"If you guys were in my seat I wonder if you'd be doing the same thing," Farnworth said. "Maybe not."

In the end, though, all agreed the need is there and this appeared to be a good way to solve it, although before adopting the budget they opted to change the budget item from trailer office to new building so the money can be used to build something permanent if the council chooses. That option could take much longer, Wright said.

The property tax rate was also decreased in keeping with rising property valuations in the city, which Riley said should still result in significant increases in property tax revenue.

Heidi Toth can be reached at 344-2543 or htoth@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.