Tuesday, January 29th, 2019
Additional funds sought for park work
Celina council moves to borrow $550,000 for decking at amphitheater, restroom
By William Kincaid
CELINA - City council members plan to borrow $550,000 to pay for concrete for decking surrounding a new amphitheater and for one of five new restroom facilities planned for the Bryson Park District along Lake Shore Drive.
"This is going to allow us to continue to move forward on the park," mayor Jeff Hazel said at council's regular meeting on Monday night.
Councilors unanimously passed first reading of an ordinance authorizing the issuance and sale of bonds totaling $555,000.
City auditor Betty Strawn explained that the city would take out a five-year note with a 4.1 percent fixed interest rate from Second National Bank. The city would repay the debt with five annual payments of about $110,000, which would come exclusively from the Grand Lake Tax Increment Financing district, not the general fund. The general fund is largely supported by income-tax dollars.
The 25-year Grand Lake TIF will continue collecting real estate taxes through 2029. Officials believe it will take in roughly $1.2 million in its remaining years.
City officials intend to start phase 3 of the Harley C. Jones Memorial Rotary Amphitheater this spring.
Bruns Building & Development of St. Henry, which received a $491,033 contract to construct the amphitheater and install the foundation, concrete, sidewalks, lighting and a sound system, will finish its part of the project in early 2019, according to Hazel.
Most of the work is done on the amphitheater structure with the stage and surrounding concrete to be poured by the contractor by May.
Phase 3 will consist of the amphitheater hardscape work - four ascending levels of concrete. The public will be able to place lawn chairs or sit on the walls of each level. Steps will be installed on the sides and middle of the seating.
The concrete seating and surrounding grassy area will allow up to 4,000 people to view events at the venue, Hazel has said.
Alexander & Bebout Inc. of Van Wert received a $357,638 contract to complete the seating. Employees are expected to begin work on May 15, city safety service director Tom Hitchcock told the newspaper.
Also included in phase 3 is the construction of a restroom facility near the east end of the parking lot near the hot water hole, Hitchcock noted. That project would be bid out in the near future.
About $65,000 remains from a $1.2 million state capital line-item grant secured by then-Ohio Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, for the amphitheater.
City officials will combine that money with the $550,000 they intend to borrow through Second National Bank to complete the amphitheater project, which Hitchcock said should be ready for the Celina Lake Festival. Construction of the restroom will begin after festival season, he said.
The original $1.2 million state capital line-item did not include funding for the concrete decking work, Hazel said. City officials later decided to go with the decking rather than a grassy slope as had been originally planned to provide more secure and lasting seating, Hazel told the newspaper.
Also, Hazel said the $550,000 that officials intend to borrow could count as matching funds toward other grants.
Councilors in November passed final reading of a resolution authorizing Hazel to apply for up to $500,000 in Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Water Conservation Fund Grant Program funds for outdoor recreation projects at the Bryson Park District.
Former mayor Jim Mustard is coordinating the grant application with city officials, according to Hazel.
"We have several options on different types of playgrounds and equipment," Hazel previously told the newspaper when asked how any grant money would be spent. "It really depends on how much is going to be available in that (grant) money that we know how to apply it."
