City commission extends Lange’s contract
The sale of temporary notes to pay for the construction of the public infrastructure of the St. Joseph Subdivision, and the establishment of a land pricing policy for the subdivision were some of the action items at the regular meeting of the city commission on Wednesday.
Also during the meeting, the commissioners met in executive session for 10 minutes, and met in another executive session with city manager Amy Lange for 20 minutes.
At the end of the second session, commissioners unanimously voted to extend Lange's contract as city manager for an additional two years.
Lange has served as city manager since January 2018.
By unanimous vote, commissioners voted to approve Resolution 2023-2169 which authorizes the sale and delivery of Series 2023 Temporary Notes to finance public infrastructure for the St. Joseph Subdivision.
The city intends to develop the subdivision to address a housing shortage in Concordia.
Campbell & Johnson has completed design work for the public infrastructure to serve the subdivision
and are soliciting bids to construct the streets, water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer improvements.
The next step in the process was to secure financing for the public infrastructure improvements.
The city’s bond adviser, Piper Sandler, had stated that the best course of action was to issue general obligation temporary notes to pay for the construction of the public infrastructure, then convert those temporary notes to permanent financing through the issuance of general obligation bonds.
On November 28 at 11 a.m. the City opened three bids on the financing: Robert W. Baird & Co.,
Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin – True Interest Cost (TIC) 4.237248%; Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., of New York – TIC 4.372132%; and Northland Securities, Inc. of Minnesota – TIC 4.853264%.
The winning bidder was Robert W. Baird & Co. at a 4.23% interest rate, which was below the City's interest rate projections.
Clayton Kelley, senior vice president of Piper Sandler, attended the meeting and answered questions from commissioners.
Commissioners then approved Resolution No. 2023-2170, which authorizes Commission Policy
Statement #2023-1 which establishes a land pricing policy for the St. Joseph Subdivision.
The subdivision has been platted into lots and blocks and is presently under the ownership of the Concordia Land Bank, for which the city commission serves as the Board of Directors.
The city is the fiscal agent of the Concordia Land Bank; therefore, the city commission will adopt a land pricing policy similar to that which was adopted for the College Drive Park Addition. This policy establishes guidelines for the evaluation of economic development incentives that may be offered to prospective homebuyers with respect to Blocks A and B of the St. Joseph Subdivision.
Because the land was donated to the city, the city has flexibility with respect to the sale price of these lots
The full lot price of the St. Joseph Subdivision is $4.25 per square foot. This price equates to the investment of thecity in acquiring, grading, constructing streets and sidewalks, and providing public
utilities to the lots. This investment is expected to be mostly repaid through the use of the Rural Housing Incentive District.
The goal of this policy is to promote and encourage the development and use of the property to address the current housing shortage in Concordia. Under this policy, households meeting the income requirements to qualify for the purchase of moderate-income homes in Block B automatically qualify for a free lot.
Households not meeting this income requirement may qualify for a reduced or free lot if they demonstrate local employment which may include expansion of an existing business or a newly established local business, a minimum appraised value of the home they intend to build, a local banking relationship, the use of local contractors, and/or have students attending a local public education institution.
In other action, commissioners approved the purchase of a Kawasaki Mule SX 4x4 from Farm Country Ford for the amount of $11,309.90, to come out of the Sports Complex Equipment Reserve.
The Parks Department's current utility vehicle recently had a major breakdown, leaving the complex without a piece of machinery that was used daily for various tasks and is crucial for grounds maintenance.
By unanimous vote, commissioners approved the purchase of a permanent in-line protective netting system for the Sports Complex from Beacon Athletics for the amount of $42,300. The purchase will be paid for with a $20,000 grant from the Community Foundation For Cloud County, and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funds.
Upgrading the protective netting at the Sports Complex was a project on the CIP list. The netting will increase the safety of spectators and enhance their view of contests on Jensen and Meyer fields.
Beacon Athletics of Madison, Wisconsin, is noted for its work in sports facility development. They will provide a permanent in-line netting system for the Jensen and Meyer fields with an
engineered pole and cable design.
Commissioners then approved Ordinance 2023-3214 that repealed Chapter XX, Article 5 of
City code regarding a gas line.
City code contained an entire section (Article) on a gas line, but since the City sold the gas line that
ran to the north development in May of this year, there is no longer a need for this section in the code.
Repealing this section of the code makes way for the new water conservation plan to take its place.
Upon the recommendation of the city's Planning Commission and building inspector Bruno Rehbein, commissioners voted to approve Ordinance 2023-3215, vacating the 17th Street right-of-way between and immediately adjacent to Lots 1 through 9, Block 24, and Lots 10 through 18, Block 37, of the Concordia Original Town Site, with the reservation of the easement.
Commissioners also approved the reappointment of Julie Willoughby and Michelle Hardacre to the Housing Authority Board.
The meeting officially adjourned at 6:46 p.m.