Mount Vernon will be retiring existing debt as it takes on up to $29 million in Treasury Notes for the construction of a new police headquarters, City Auditor Daniel Brinkman told the City Council during its March 23 meeting.
The decision comes as city officials seek to address public safety needs while managing the city's financial obligations. The council discussed how the new borrowing would impact Mount Vernon's bond capacity and tax rates.
"I think that all of this really has answered the questions that I was having about our bond capacity and just being able to bond this without adding any taxes that are additional, because I think that's really important for me to ensure that we are not going to have to levy a tax," Mount Vernon City Council member Amber Keener said after hearing Brinkman's data, along with information from city consultants.
Brinkman explained that the city's debt service increased to a little more than $2 million with the addition of debt for the new municipal center in the Central Ohio Technical College Knox Campus building on South Main Street. That saved the city a lot of money, Brinkman said. A Chase bond for the water park and other project and a loan with Park Bank for the Mount Vernon Avenue Bridge totaling $759,000 in annual payments will fall off the city's books next year. Another Chase bond for a wastewater project and a U.S. Bank bond for Blackjack Road will cut another $325,000 out of debt payments in 2029. Between these projects, approximately $1.1 million in total debt service will fall off, with half of it coming off the General Fund.
City Council member James Mahan said the city will enter a few years of "lean and mean" for its operations. Mayor Matt Starr confirmed that's why the administration was conservative on budget appropriations. He said as they knew the city would be taking on more debt they didn't want to "tempt fate," and are looking for ways to tighten up finances.
Ashley Senn of Pizzuti Solutions, the city's owner representative on the project, said based on 50% of the construction documents on the project, they estimate the project budget at approximately $26.2 million. That is lower than the $29 million approved by council. Pizzuti Solutions expects to go through additional pricing exercises over the next several weeks after getting all construction drawings to determine the guaranteed maximum price. The bid schedule anticipates procurement to begin in mid- to late April, with bidding taking approximately a month. She said once the guaranteed maximum price is authorized by council, the construction manager will be ready to break ground.
According to the video recording, Brinkman told the council that like many of them, he had concerns about committing $29 million but felt better after reviewing financial projections. Law Director Rob Broeren said extra space in the police headquarters that will not be built out initially will allow potential future expansion as Mount Vernon grows and creates demand for more officers. The city is building larger than currently needed so it has a 50-year or 100-year building.
