Thursday, 08 May 2008 06:47
Ione's Loan Financing Options for New Fire Station
At the Ione City Council’s special meeting last week, it was requested that the agenda item regarding loan financing options for the new fire station be brought back when a comprehensive comparison of the loan options was available. At the April 29th meeting however, with recommendation from staff, the four pending proposals were narrowed down to the two that were deemed best for the city. Those two proposals were from Bar Capital and the Bank of Amador, whose terms were not completed by the April 29th meeting. Finance Director Mark Smith continued to recommend the Bar Capital loan for the city, stating that “given the conservative nature of some of you, this makes the most sense.” The Bank of Amador’s proposed loan does have a more favorable short term interest rate and no prepayment penalties, although the rate is adjustable, unlike Bar Capital's, which is a fixed rate term. The estimated annual repayments for the loan with Bar Capital are approximately 44-thousand dollars, with out of pocket expenses totaling 55-hundred to 10-thousand dollars. Council voted 3-2, with Councilmen Ulm and Sherman dissenting, to approve the selection of the loan with Bar Capital and also to authorize City Manager Kim Kerr to sign the loan documents on behalf of the city.