ROBERTSDALE — The Robertsdale City Council voted at its Monday, Oct. 18 meeting to approve financing with Citizens’ Bank for the purchase of the Baldwin County Coliseum.
The council voted at its Oct. 5 meeting to approve the purchase of the Baldwin County Coliseum from the Baldwin County Commission for a total of $2.2 million.
Robertsdale Mayor Charles Murphy the city has paid a deposit to the county of $200,000 and received five and 10-year options of yearly balloon payments on a 20-year amortization.
The council opted to go with the second option, which would include payments of $130,000 per year on a fixed tax-free interest rate of 2.82%, plus a $10,000 origination fee and a $250 document preparation fee, plus all third-party fees.
Under the terms of the agreement with the county, the city will receive an annual fee of $110,000 from the county each time a fair is held on the site.
Council member Russell Johnson asked if the $10,000 origination fee could be negotiated considering how much business the city does with Citizens’ Bank.
In other business Oct. 18, the council approved a water and waste system grant agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture which will be used for improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment facility.
Under the terms of the agreement, the city has agreed to finance $7.8 million, along with a USDA grant of $6.1 million for a total of $13.9 million for the project.
Murphy said approximately $10 million of the project will go toward improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment facility, while the remainder would be used to make improvements on collection lines.
According to the terms of the loan, the city will make annual payments of $272,229 over a 40-year period at 1.75% interest.
It will likely be the end of 2022 before the city receives any funds from the loan, Murphy said. It will likely take five years to complete the project.
Also on Oct. 18, the council:
