Fairhope, Alabama
fairhopetimes@att.net
CONSERVATION FUND DROPPED OUT
At tonight's council meeting, Mayor Kant announced that he was recommending The Conservation Fund (click) not be included in the pending purchase arrangement for the Dyas property (as was proposed at the last council meeting) -- opting instead to finance the remaining $5.7 million via a local bank loan ($3 million has already been committed from city funds).
Kant said difficulties arose during the negotiations with attorneys for the three parties involved over various stipulations in the agreement.
Kant: "After a lot of negotiations ... we had difficulties getting everybody on the same page."
The only other option would be to have the Dyas' self-finance the purchase at 4% interest vs. the 1.35% being offered by Compass bank (5 year term). (The Conservation Fund would also have charged 4% interest.)
(Note: The usual council meeting scheduled for Monday was moved forward because of the holidays)
GOVERNOR CHIMES IN
The mayor said the issue came up during a meeting with Governor Bentley last Monday; and he (Bentley) was enthused about the project -- and urged the city to acquire the property with a loan first, in anticipation of applying for state/federal grants to eventually re-imburse the city.
A loan would make obtaining the grants easier, according to the Governor.
A total of about $12 million is needed to completely fund the Fly Creek Watershed Restoration Project, hopefully with BP fine money (Restore Act) whenever it becomes available.
Even if the BP money doesn't materialized (a 50/50 chance has been mentioned), other grants may be available via state Fish and Wildlife, Forever Wild, and ADECA (trails) programs.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT CONCURS
Councilman Burrell, who also attended the meeting with the Governor, said the Conservation Fund's stipulations could not be met -- and the new plan "makes the most sense."
Burrell: "He (Bentley) was very, very enthused about the project ... don't know exactly how long it may take to secure the funds ... (but) feel very confident we will recover the cost of this ... ."
Burrell highlighted the savings of the $350K in fees the Fund would have charged -- on top of savings from the lower interest rate.
Compass bank will charge only $2,500 in fees.
SPECIAL MEETING CALLED
The city council has called a special meeting for Dec 27th at 10AM to vote on the new proposal.
The entire purchase agreement must be finalized by the end of the year, according to the lawsuit settlement agreement reached earlier this year with the Dyas family.
Kant said in the interim, "people will have time to tell us what they think ... ."
CONSERVATION FUND DROPPED OUT
At tonight's council meeting, Mayor Kant announced that he was recommending The Conservation Fund (click) not be included in the pending purchase arrangement for the Dyas property (as was proposed at the last council meeting) -- opting instead to finance the remaining $5.7 million via a local bank loan ($3 million has already been committed from city funds).
Kant said difficulties arose during the negotiations with attorneys for the three parties involved over various stipulations in the agreement.
Kant: "After a lot of negotiations ... we had difficulties getting everybody on the same page."
The only other option would be to have the Dyas' self-finance the purchase at 4% interest vs. the 1.35% being offered by Compass bank (5 year term). (The Conservation Fund would also have charged 4% interest.)
(Note: The usual council meeting scheduled for Monday was moved forward because of the holidays)
GOVERNOR CHIMES IN
The mayor said the issue came up during a meeting with Governor Bentley last Monday; and he (Bentley) was enthused about the project -- and urged the city to acquire the property with a loan first, in anticipation of applying for state/federal grants to eventually re-imburse the city.
A loan would make obtaining the grants easier, according to the Governor.
A total of about $12 million is needed to completely fund the Fly Creek Watershed Restoration Project, hopefully with BP fine money (Restore Act) whenever it becomes available.
Even if the BP money doesn't materialized (a 50/50 chance has been mentioned), other grants may be available via state Fish and Wildlife, Forever Wild, and ADECA (trails) programs.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT CONCURS
Councilman Burrell, who also attended the meeting with the Governor, said the Conservation Fund's stipulations could not be met -- and the new plan "makes the most sense."
Burrell: "He (Bentley) was very, very enthused about the project ... don't know exactly how long it may take to secure the funds ... (but) feel very confident we will recover the cost of this ... ."
Burrell highlighted the savings of the $350K in fees the Fund would have charged -- on top of savings from the lower interest rate.
Compass bank will charge only $2,500 in fees.
SPECIAL MEETING CALLED
The city council has called a special meeting for Dec 27th at 10AM to vote on the new proposal.
The entire purchase agreement must be finalized by the end of the year, according to the lawsuit settlement agreement reached earlier this year with the Dyas family.
Kant said in the interim, "people will have time to tell us what they think ... ."
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