Colby OKs loans for construction projects

After months of planning for the reconstruction of North Second Street and Community Drive, Colby’s city council approved a decision to take out a pair of loans from Forward Bank during its March 7 meeting.

While the board had approved a motion to use MSR Engineering to move forward with the project, the council still had to determine the finances for the projects.

“Well,wehavetodeterminetheterms,” Colby clerk/treasurer Connie Gurtner said during last Tuesday’s meeting.

The two projects combined are worth $1,900,000. The loan for the North Second Street construction project is priced at $1,250,000, while the reconstruction project for Community Drive comes at a price tag of $650,000.

The council received bids from a pair of local banks - Nicolet National Bank and Forward Financial Bank. The council also had to determine the length of the loans, whether to go with a ten year loan or seven year loan.

“My recommendation is the longer term, our annual payments will be less,” Gurtner told the council.

The first motion that was passed was to approve the borrowing of $1,250,000 for ten years with an interest rate of 2.85 percent for the North Second Street project. The city will also pay 2.85 percent interest on the $650,000 Community Drive construction loan.

The cost to pay both loans for city of Colby will be $110,068.87 annually.

MSA engineer Mike Voss, who is overseeing the project on behalf of the city, was present at the meeting, and while he said there is no set date for when construction will get underway, but that is very much dependent on the weather.

He did provide an estimate for the time it will take to complete each project. Voss said he expects the North Second Street project to take approximately 80-90 days to finish, while Community Drive has an estimated time of 40-50 days to reach completion.

Other business

_ The council approved a motion to purchase a new tractor from Swiderski, and not to exceed $51,635. The tractor will be used by the city’s department of public works for mowing grass and road grading.

_ The council passed a motion for the installation of a mutual aid box alarm system for Central Fire & EMS.

_ A motion was approved to change the language regarding the city’s fee ordinance, and was revised to read “as resolved by common council.”

_ The council will meet again on April 4, 2022.