During his state of the state address last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed $43.3 billion in new bonds for a wish list of state projects, ranging from funds to house the state’s over-capacity prisons to even more money than the voters approved last year to improve roads and highways.

In the list of improvements to be paid for by the new bonds is $100 million for renovations and new buildings at the Veterans Home of California at Yountville.

Dr. Robert Johnson, the California Department of Veterans Affairs director of capital development, said the $100 million, which must be approved by voters at an election that has not yet been scheduled, is just an estimate of monies the Vets Home may receive. Johnson added that through the state Veterans Home grant program, the Vets Home would acquire matching funds from the federal government of up to 65 percent of grant totals.

While Vets Home administrators in Yountville have proposed an ambitious plan to expand services to better serve veterans of the current war and the Persian Gulf War of 1990 and 1991, planning for what to do with the money earmarked by the governor is just getting under way.

A $500,000 infrastructure study began at the Vets Home this month, according to Johnson. “Its purpose is to guide us on the most efficient way to use the money. There are a variety of needs at the facility,” he said.

Johnson said funds from an earlier voter-approved bond will be used to renovate the member services building at the Vets Home, and any new funds would be reserved for the skilled nursing facility and other projects. “The hospital was never designed as a skilled nursing facility. Someday we’re going to have to upgrade, but there’s no emergency and no plan yet,” he said.

Johnson said infrastructure and telecommunications issues would be addressed with future bond funds, and added that like many older institutions, Vets Home facilities need updating.

Johnson added that since more than 1,000 people live at the Vets Home, renovating buildings requires careful planning. “You have to move people when you’re working on their homes. We’re not just going to spend $100 million and do half of a building. But over time, this gives us a great deal of flexibility,” he said.

Johnson said he was pleased that Gov. Schwarzenegger recognized the need for improvements at the Vets Home, which is not only home to 1,000 veterans, but is also a historical site. “It’s a very exciting prospect and (shows) a real commitment by the governor and our friends at the department of finance that we can’t continue to ignore the needs of the people,” he said.