The Collinsville City Council secured funding for the construction of a new water well at last week’s regular council meeting.
They approved Ordinance 824-2024 which authorizes the sale of city bonds to fund the new project at the corner of Graham Grove and Hog Creek Road, just south of the city limits and in the municipal ETJ.
The council was updated by Steven Murray with Hilltop Securities, the financial firm that has ushered the city through the bond process.
“Tonight is the culmination of the process that I guess officially, for business purposes, started back in the summer,” Murray said. “… We sold some bonds this morning for the water well project— certificates of obligation.”
According to Murray, back in August the city adopted the notice of intent to go through this process.
“And today was the day we actually got it done and then sold the bonds to investors,” he said. “So just a quick report for you on how the transaction went… these were done in all-in, true interest cost of 4.48%. Going back to the summer, all of our budgeting and planning work, we’re modeling really close to about 5% (so they came in under budget)… this means we got
this done at a total debt service that’s about $160,000 less than what we were projecting back in the summer… the project fund is still funded at $3.61 million, and then there’s also an
additional deposit of $120,600 to cover that first payment.”
According to Murray, the city locked in a sub 4.5% all-in true interest cost on the certificates and a closing date of Nov. 20.
“That’s the date you can expect to receive those funds,” Murray said. “So, your action tonight is what officially accepts this and allows us to move forward and get a final official statement and get all the closing documents done, which will take about a month. And then at that point, we are officially done. We can begin that water well project.”
The motion passed unanimously and Mayor Derek Kays said he was excited to get the project underway.
“The city is growing and the need for water is more important now than ever,” Kays said.
In other business, as reported in last week’s edition of the News-Record, the council recognized city first responders for going above and beyond the call of duty.
Volunteer firefighters were acknowledged for their service and specific life-saving actions during an event on May 15, 2024.
Collinsville police officers were also recognized and received awards.
Keep Collinsville Beautiful (KCB) president Betty Graham thanked volunteers for the recent highway trash pickup and upcoming holiday decorations were discussed.
“We’ll be decorating downtown for the holidays. We’ve always done that the Monday after Thanksgiving. If you look at your calendar, that doesn’t work,” Graham said. “So, we’re going to decorate the Friday after Thanksgiving, unless something changes between now and then. But we will get that done. We are securing some new decorations. EDC has granted us some funds to work with.”
According to Graham, KCB is still seeking homes to be featured on the annual Holiday Tour of Homes.
Collinsville Chamber of Commerce president Marva Worsham reported on a successful Pioneer Day in September and Jessica Orsburn said the Park Association had a successful trunk or treat event two weeks ago.
In other business, the council:
•Renewed the Whitesboro News-Record as the city’s official newspaper of publication.
•Approved the appointment of Scott Beatty for the Collinsville Economic Development Corporation
•Approved Ordinance 825-2024 to amend 2023-2024 budget and shore up a shortfall in the General Fund.
The next council meeting will be held Monday, Nov, 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Collinsville Community Center. The public is always welcome to attend.
Source: Freepik.com