The Columbus City Council unanimously voted to allow the city’s financial counsel to begin forming a finance package for $5 million in general obligation bonds for road paving.
City engineer Kevin Stafford said he’s made a list of prospective paving projects for each ward, accumulated from those that weren’t including in previous paving projects, that haven’t been paved in 10 or more years or are otherwise in need. Each councilman can review the list for the wards and make changes as desired.
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith said the city last initiated a similar road paving project in 2014.
In June 2014, the council approved $5 million in bonds to provide $4.5 million for paving, drainage and sidewalk improvements. At the time, a survey identified $6.3 million in needed improvements and council members were asked to help the city determine which roads in each ward should be considered a priority.
To fund the project, the city raised property taxes by 1.1 mills, an estimated additional annual cost of $11 for a property with an assessed value of $100,000.
Tuesday’s plan is similar to the 2014 project except, the mayor said, for one thing: The bonds should not lead to a millage increase, thanks in part to continued strong growth in the city’s sales tax revenues.
“One reason why we’re not doing a millage increase is because we have debts that will be rolling off,” he said. “We also have the sales tax increases.”
The new plan will include milling, paving and striping, as well as curb, gutter, sidewalk and bridge work.
The planned paving project includes work on a bridge in Ward 6 on Deer Run that will cost an estimated $135,000. Smith said a collapsed culvert on College Street between 15th and 19th streets south also needs to be addressed. That project should cost about $130,000.
The council will have to decide how to divvy up the money, if the bonds are issued.
“The way we did it two years ago, we divided among the six councilmen, which came out to be $750,000,” Smith said. “Hopefully the council will do the same thing this time.”
Smith said the bond package should be presented at the June 7 council meeting, and the council can adopt a resolution of intent to issue the bonds. From there, the city will schedule and hold a public hearing on the projects before the city can formally issue them.
Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong said the city currently can issue about $12 million before hitting its debt limit.
Starkville contractor wins City Hall project
The council also unanimously voted to award a $1.341 million bid to Starkville-based Craddock Construction for the second phase of the ongoing City Hall renovation project.
The $1.5 million project, which began in the fall, has included some exterior work on the building as workers have gutted the interior to make way for the second phase.
J5 Chief Operations Officer Robyn Eastman said the contractor should be on site in June to begin the work, and there’s a December 27 deadline for the interior renovation to be “substantially completed.”
Eastman said the second phase is a complete interior renovation to mirror the building’s original design from its construction in 1904. He said that includes changes to the plaster floors, doors, and lighting.
“It will look very similar to how it looked in 1904 when it was originally built,” Eastman said.
Eastman said work is scheduled to be finished enough to allow the mayor and his staff to return to city hall next February.
The renovation is being paid for by a Community Heritage Preservation grant through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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