Decatur refinancing $7.4 million

DECATUR - City council members passed an ordinance refinancing Decatur’s $7.4 million wastewater treatment plant bonds at a special meeting on Oct. 19.

Refinancing the bond will save $310,000 in interest over the next 25 years, thanks to historically low interest rates, without extending the length of the loan or the amount of money financed according to Michael Moyers attorney with Friday, Eldredge and Clark.

After a brief public hearing with no public comment, aldermen Raegina Davis, Linda Martin, David Sutton and SandyDuncan voted to pass Ordinance 10-05, establishing the maturity schedule for the city’s water and sewer refunding revenue bonds, ratifying and confirming the sale of the bonds, and confirming the existing water and sewer rates. Aldermen James Jessen and Trip Lapham were not present.

Passing the ordinance was the final step in refinancing the bonds for the city, Moyers said. The bonds were to be issued on Oct. 27. The original bond issue was in 2005 and the loan will be paid off in 2035.

Moyers appeared before the council on Sept. 13, along with Bob Wright, of Crews and Associates, to explain the historically low interest rates that made the deal possible. Refinancing thebonds will not affect Decatur’s water and sewer rates, Moyers and Wright said.

In other business, the council voted to approve buying a used truck for animal control and the street department. The truck is a 2008 Dodge with a long, wide bed and a towing package. It has 9,000 miles and cost the city $13,500. The council also approved the purchase of a used animal control box for the truck, for a total cost of around $15,000.

If the exact same truck were purchased new, the truck alone would cost $23,000 at the state bid price, animal control officer and parks and street departmentmanager Mike Barnett told the council.

Barnett said someone had complained to the Humane Society after seeing a dog riding in the open cage in the back of his current truck. The new box truck would be safer for the dogs, safer for those who handle them and would keep the dogs out of the public eye, he said. The box also has its own ventilation system and fans to keep the animals comfortable, Barnett explained.

Davis asked where the money to purchase the new truck would come from. Mayor Bill Montgomery said there was money available in the parks department new equipment fund. He also suggested selling some of the older surplus vehicles from the police and water departments to help cover the cost.

“Mike does a good job. I think he deserves a vehicle that does everything he needs,” said Duncan.