City to borrow $1.845 million for new municipal building, refinance old debt
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
GLENWOOD CITY — The City Council set in motion the process to borrow some $1,845,000 of General Obligation Bonds to finance the new Municipal Building and to retire two other loans.
The Council entertained Sean Lentz and Joshua Low from Ehlers Public Finance Advisors who will be handling the issuing of the bonds. Lentz informed members of the council that, “you don’t have a lot of debt right now.”
They proposed to combine two Promissory Notes, one issued in 2019 with a balance of $85,000 and another issued in 2020 with a balance of $205,000 together with adding some $1,555,000 to finish construction of the new Municipal Building. The City has received a one million dollar grant for the new $2.3 million dollar structure.
The city has a debt limit of just under four million dollars, so with the new financing the city will use about 47 percent of its borrowing limit. The city does have other debts, but they are with their public utilities and that debt does not figure in with the state imposed General Obligation debt limit.
The city’s obligation on the twenty-year financing of the new General Obligation Bond, has a yearly payment of about $113,000 and the city will pay some $423,658 in interest over those twenty years. The interest rate on those bonds is estimated to start at .55 percent in the first year and will rise to 2.55 percent in the twentieth year.
According to the estimate cost to home owners within the city, Ehlers estimates that a home valued at one hundred thousand will see a tax increase of just under $30.00
The city will decided on the awarding of the bond sale at their regular monthly meeting of October 18.
At the meeting Monday evening the council approved a second payment on the construction of the new building to Derrick Construction. The pay request was for $488,047.30.
Zoning Change
Vern and Sue Anderson appeared before the City Council to discuss the sale of their home at 250 Oak Street. Their home is located in the second block of the community’s main street and is zoned commercial.
According to City Clerk/Treasurer Sharon Rosenow, a residential structure in a commercial zone would not be allowed to be rebuilt if it receives more than fifty percent damage from a natural disaster or a fire.
The council learned that the party that is buying the home couldn’t get financing unless the zoning is changed. In order to have a zoning change the Andersons must apply for a change and then a notice is placed in the newspaper for two weeks and the matter is moved to the City’s Planning Commission and then to the City County. So, it was learned that no council action could be done on the matter before October 6th.
In other council matters they approved operator’s licenses for Heidi J. Williams and Taylor AM Clay. The councilmembers also put their approved on the council ward plan for county elections with the new census figures for county board district. Rosenow informed the council that the figures she has put Glenwood City’s population at 1306, according top unofficial figures that Rosenow had received.
The council heard from Library Director Rachel Karlson, who informed the members of the total number of visits the library received last month and they had 499 website visits. They had 334 walk-ins in August with 62 computer usage.
Lynn McIntyre of Cedar Corporation presented the council with a map for a new TID boundaries that encompasses the old school property. Mayor Larson noted that with a TID on that property, the city could recoup funds that they have expended on the clean up and demolition of the old school. He noted that work on the demolition should get underway next month.
In his police report, Chief Robert Darwin presented information from the St. Croix County Circuit Court ordering Steven Tudahl to pay the Glenwood City Police Department restitution of $2,235.00 for damages to a city police car that was damaged back on August 26, 2020 when Tudahl ran his motorcycle into the vehicle. Darwin noted that he will start paying off the debt when he gets out of jail.
