Terms of that bid, Parks and Recreation Director John Simeon told council this evening, are for six years at a 2.16 percent interest rate and annual payments of around $51,000 to $55,000.
Discussion of the matter was an add-on to the agenda requested by Councilman Carl Ferebee, who represents the district the pool has traditionally served.
Council did not immediately take a vote to move forward with the bid, instead agreeing to wait on a report from City Manager Joseph Scherer on where the city stands with its other installment financing agreements.
Ferebee told fellow members of the city’s governing panel a action on the matter is needed soon to have the repairs made by the middle of June.
Continued debate on the matter has forced the city to miss a spring deadline for completion of the repairs. “Moving forward, I’m concerned whether the June 1 deadline is achievable,” Simeon said.
While Ferebee said the city’s recent audit report “showed we are tight,” he added “when there was a need we worked hard to fund that need.”
Ferebee said the $300,000 does not have to come out of the city’s fund balance. “The proposal was to get bids for loans … The way it works the first year payment would not be due until one year from tonight.”
Ferebee said he believes it is important “to do it now rather than wait for the interest rate to go up. I would like to see us move forward on what we decided a month ago. We have time constraints. It’s the one thing District 3 has asked for since I’ve been on council that was pretty much dollar worthy.”
Councilman Wayne Smith remains concerned about pool repairs in the face of budget challenges in the upcoming fiscal year and called for a breakdown of where the city is on its installment financing.
“I would like to see what the financial picture is going to be,” Councilman Ernest Bobbitt said.
Smith said before he was elected to council, “I remember sitting out there 10 years ago” and everything was fine. “But we built something and now everything ain’t fine.”
Councilwoman Carol Cowen said she would like to look at the numbers first.
Both Mayor Emery Doughtie and Ferebee said they believed the numbers won’t change.
“I want to see the pool fixed if there is money to fix it,” Bobbitt said.