Tuesday, Union City Council authorized the legal firm of Pope Zeigler LLC to seek fixed rate loans from banks.
Attorney Margaret Pope indicated that most financial advisors who work in the public markets believe that interest rates are going to rise in the near future. She said the longer council delays getting a fixed-rate locked in the greater the likelihood it will have to pay more in interest when the rates go up.
The center would be built on the site of the old Teritex building at the corner of North Pinckney Street and Sharpe Avenue. Finance director Walker Gallman said the demolition of the Teritex building would be financed out of monies available in the city’s downtown tax increment district fund, which has approximately $60,000.
Mrs. Pope said construction of the center would cost an estimated $2 million. Roughly half would be paid for with the loan which she said would be paid off over 14 years through revenue generated from the tax increment district. The balance would be paid with the $940,000 left over from the insurance settlement the city received for the fire that destroyed the old Union High School on Main Street.
“With this plan, the city does not have to raise taxes or fees and doesn’t have to take money from anywhere else,” she said.
David Langley, an architect with Langley & Associates Architects, LLC, the firm the city hired to design the center, told council that due to the current economy, construction costs are quite low. Langley said that the sooner the city moves on the project the larger facility it can build at less cost.
The proposed arts center would be 10,000-12,000 square feet in size and include a 4,500 square-foot theater area that would be used by Boogaloo Folklife Productions. The center could be used for other plays, for concerts, recitals, festivals, business training sessions and multi-media presentations. Langley said the theater will have a screen that could be used for showing movies.
On-line utility payments
Utility customers will soon have the option of paying their bills on-line.
Council authorized the purchase of an “on-line payment for utility billing module” from QS/1 Data Systems. The system, which will cost $4,295 to purchase and install and $500 a year to maintain, will allow city customers to pay their bill on-line using a credit/debit or ATM card.
Finance director Walker Gallman recommended the purchase as a an added convenience for city customers and savings for the city. When installed this fall, the system will allow customers to pay their bills on-line and keep track of prior payments. Initially, however, customers will not be able to view their current bills on-line, but Gallman said it is hoped that feature will be added by Christmas.
Gallman pointed out that when the system reaches the point where customers can be billed on-line, it will reduce the number of notices the city has to send through the mail. He said, for example, if 10 percent of the city’s customers participate in the program and opt to access their bills on-line it would save the city approximately $900 a month in postage and handling.
While on-line payments are more convenient than those made in person or by mail, Gallman said the easiest method is through an automatic bank draft. He said the city already offers this service, sending a notice out every month to participating customers of the amount due and when it will be withdrawn from their bank account.
Currently, 537 or 5.7 percent of the city’s 9,312 utility customers pay their bills through an automatic bank draft.
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