Document text
Fire station money may help fix up temple By Dani Dodge of the Mail Tribune ASHLAND -- The City Council will consider next week whether to fund the $2.6 million renovation of Hillah Temple partially with increased fees and money that had been set aside for fire station reconstruction. The city no longer needs the $450,000 set aside for fire station reconstruction because of the passage of a $3.14 million bond measure last month, said City Administrator Mike Freeman. "The rationale was the council set it aside for a building project, and this also needs to be financed and funded," Freeman said Friday. The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Civic Center Council Chambers. Among the items on the agenda is the need to increase the amount of a loan for wastewater treatment plant improvements and adoption of a citizen participation plan. Anyone wanting to see a draft copy of the citizen participation plan -- intended to give citizens a share in decision making -- can go to the city's Web site at www.ashland.or.us and check under Administrative Services. The council will meet again at the Civic Center at noon Wednesday for a study session to discuss the Hillah Temple financing. No decision will be made at the study session. The city has been setting aside about $100,000 a year for the last 10 years for new city offices. The current City Hall is overcrowded and the public works and engineering staff members work out of rented offices on the Plaza. The city bought Hillah Temple, across from Lithia Park, last year for $650,000. The city plans to put both public works and community development in the renovated Hillah to allow for "one-stop shopping" for builders and developers. Total cost for the Hillah is estimated at $2.65 million. So far, $700,000 has been spent on land acquisition and planning. City staff is recommending the additional $1.95 million come from a $350,000 cash balance still available for the project, $1.15 million in bank financing, and the $450,000 that had been set aside for fire station reconstruction. Freeman said the money had been set aside when the city council lowered some fund balances in different accounts. A 10-year bank loan would be paid off both by redirecting the $100,000 the city had been setting aside and fee increases in the public works and community development departments. The council will consider one other leap in financing this week. The budget for the wastewater treatment plant update has increased from $22.8 million to $29.8 million because of engineering costs, accommodations to neighbors and the need to put in a new pump that had caused some spills in the past year, Freeman said. The council will consider whether to borrow $3 million from a state "clean water" fund that has a 3.42 percent financing rate. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA