Earlier this week Avondale Estates’ recently-created Urban Redevelopment Agency approved issuing a bond anticipation note for financing critical development projects. The city still has to close on the BAN with PNC Bank, which should happen in the next month. Assuming the city closes it then has the ability to borrow money for those projects without needing the voter approval required by a general obligation bond.
“This is a huge night for us,” said Mayor Pro Tem Brian Fisher during an August 12 commission meeting. “We’ve been talking about some of these concepts or ideas for years, and they are closer to becoming actuality. It’s one thing to talk about ideas, and another when you go to borrowing money and talking to contractors.”
Technically what happened Monday is that the URA authorized issuance of the BAN, and the city commission—comprised of the same members as the URA—agreed to repay all borrowed money. According to Deputy City Manager Paul Hanebuth, the borrowing cannot exceed $8.4 million, and it must be repaid in entirety by Dec. 31, 2022.
The first project likely to see construction is the Kensington detention pond, which has already been put out to bid. Other projects probably close behind are the storm water master plan and designing the 2 to 2½-acre park, or town green, slated to be part of a larger five-acre development.
Given the BAN’s terms, the city needs to immediately borrow $100,000 to start drawing interest. But any additional borrowing comes before the Board of Mayor and Commissioners in a public setting. The BAN has a variable interest rate, currently at 2.4 percent.
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