City moves ahead to refinance bonds

By Melinda L. Lucas

Albany city council members voted to move forward with plans to refinance the water plant bonds by adopting an ordinance at Monday night’s regular council meeting.

They also voted to extend the school zone to include Breckenridge Street in hopes of slowing down drivers a block from the high school campus.

Bond Refinancing

Brian Osowski of AMKO Advisors explained details about refinancing the water plant bonds in a phone conference call, stating that the estimated savings in the current low interest is more than $800,000.

“We also feel that we can eliminate six years off the end of your debt,” said Osowski.

He explained that the city is under no obligation to accept the final offer, but a resolution is necessary in order to proceed.

Austin Sherwood voiced a motion to adopt the needed ordinance authorizing the issuance and sale of combination tax and revenue refunding bonds, establishing procedures and delegating authority for the sale and delivery of the bonds to AMKO. The vote was unanimous.

School Zone

A brief discussion initiated by Sherwood revealed that everyone present agreed that Breckenridge Street, which runs parallel to the secondary campus, should have set speed limits of 25 miles per hour.

There have been a number of accidents involving speed in that area, and residents are concerned that there could potentially be injuries to children and pedestrians.

“The purpose would not be to make money from giving tickets, but to slow people down,” said city manager Billy Holson, who added that speed limits in the new zone will be enforced just as they are in the other local school zones.

A motion passed to approve the zone, and signs will be erected soon.

Other Business

•Holson stated that because of the weather and limited personnel, city employees have not been able to work on streets. He expressed concern that it has been difficult to find any new workers.

•Lester Galbreath, Jana Kitchens, Megan Ledbetter, Betsy Parsons, and Shelly Bartee were appointed to the Hotel/Motel Tax Board.