The county of Ventura has released its plans for major new capital projects, with a $22.4 million juvenile justice office complex near the top of the list.

The county's biggest pending construction project — as much as $132.5 million to expand the Todd Road Jail — hasn't had any money allocated to it yet, but it remains one of the top priorities for the next five years.

A long-rumored East County Government Center, expected to cost $50 million, also made the list, though it looks further off than any of the other projects and hasn't been subjected to a detailed study.

The list, chosen by a committee of county officials, will be presented today to the Board of Supervisors for its approval. There are 10 projects planned for the coming five years, with a collective cost of nearly $260 million.

The money would come from a variety of sources, with major construction projects like the jail expansion funded in large part by borrowing.

The juvenile justice office complex is one of four projects funded in the 2008-09 budget proposed last week by County Executive Officer Marty Robinson. It would accompany the juvenile facility the county already operates near El Rio.

Just because a project is on the list doesn't mean it's certain to happen, however; the Board of Supervisors can change its priorities at any time, said Paul Derse, the county's chief financial officer.

"These are long-term issues that we want to make sure the board is aware that they're on the burner," he said. "They're in the queue, and we recognize that we're eventually going to have to do these things."

The biggest and costliest undertaking for the county is the expansion of the Todd Road Jail near Santa Paula.

It is now almost 200 inmates over its intended capacity, and county leaders fear the state will force them to expand the jail if they don't do so on their own.

There are a number of options for expansion, ranging up to a one-time cost of $132.5 million.

"It's going to happen in some form, and we're going to have some discussions with our board about the right way to go, what shape the expansion will take," Derse said. "We want to right-size this thing."