Bethany Council Approves Street Bond Refinancing
Bethany’s Board of Aldermen approved the refinancing of General Obligation Bonds that were used to finance street work during their meeting held on Monday night.
The Series 2020 Bonds will carry a 2% interest rate and effective rate of .8% that will allow the city to save nearly $170,000. The new 2020 Series bonds will amount to $1.435 million and will be purchased by local banks. The BTC Bank will purchase $825,000. The Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri will commit to purchase $610,000. The new bonds will offer yields of between .55% to .95% and will mature between 2021 and 2029. There will be call provisions in place on July 1st of 2025. The closing date will be November 25th.
Bethany’s Councilman Randy Brejnik also discussed some options with the council for solutions to bring the rocket slide park apparatus up to a safety standard that would satisfy the city’s insurance provider. The city has been continually marked down for the slide that is seen as a safety hazard. The council would prefer that the apparatus be brought up to the safety standard and be usable rather than fenced off. The Bethany Parks and Recreation Board will have a meeting and could discuss the measure Tuesday evening. City Administrator Jake Taylor did tell council members that the city could receive a sizeable discount in the rate they pay for insurance if they could find a solution that would satisfy MIRMA, the city’s insurance provider.
Council members discussed some budget measures. The city administrator requested that council members list questions or other input they have in creating next year’s budget. The budget is on a timeline to be developed between now and the second meeting of December when it could be passed.
Bethany’s Library submitted their Phase III Reopening Plan. The library plans to be open regular days and hours between December 1st with social distancing guidelines and capacity limits in place. The library board has also hired Linda Sanders to replace Janee Lehleitner as the head librarian.
A hay bid was also approved for Duane Young during the meeting.
