|
Friday, 04 April 2008 |
|
Members of the Ione Police and Fire crews turned
out Monday evening for the
Ione City Council meeting, to listen to a staff report from city manager Kim
Kerr regarding the status of the city’s construction project on a new Fire
Station. Kerr presented the council and members of the community with a
revised project proposal, which is gauged to cost $1,450,000. Kerr stated that
the original design of the new
fire house had been revised to include fire suppression sprinklers, a facility
for waste oil, a trash collection site, and vinyl floor coverings. She
said that the changes added about $37,000 to the original cost estimate. Kerr
also stated that she expects the fire station construction project to be
completed in October or November of this year.
What
followed was a debate amongst members of the council and the community about
funding mechanisms for the project. Kerr stated that the amount of money that the city
currently has in the fire fund is insufficient to cover the cost of the
station’s construction, and discussed the possibility of borrowing internally
from other funds, including the police and waste water funds.
Councilmen Jim
Ulm and Lee Ard showed opposition to the prospect of internal borrowing,
stating that the city should consider borrowing funding that has already been
designated for other projects as a last option. But, Mayor Andrea Bonham
reminded the council that the City of Ione
is currently completing payments on the last debt that the city has, and, given
a substantial amount of money in the city’s reserves, as well as a good payment
history, they could likely get a low interest loan to fund the project. At the
end of the discussion, Kerr
agreed to complete a financing report for the project, including several
funding options, which she will present to the council at a later date.
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 04 April 2008 )
|
