Ord. 2265, clarifying the use of funds to retire the 2008 and 2010 water and sewer bonds earlier than scheduled maturity dates came up for its third and final reading at the April 23 council meeting.
During Public Comments, Eric Knowles asked council to table consideration of paying off the bonds early, maintaining this might not be the best use of the Infrastructure Improvement revenue. He proposed using some of the funds to repair the infrastructure and thereby save even more money for the city, “The city doesn’t have to fix many leaks to save more money than the early interest payoff,” he claimed. He also encouraged council to establish a Water and Sewer Commission.
Alderman Terry McClung commented he had looked over the material Knowles passed around and agreed with his point that the I&I funds could be used for more than the restricted use described in the ordinance. He moved to postpone a vote until the next meeting so council could consider their options.
Alderman David Mitchell insisted Finance Director Lonnie Clark should look at what Knowles suggested and see if there was misinformation in his presentation, and otherwise assess Knowles’s view. McClung said waiting two weeks would not hurt their process, and vote to wait was 5-0.