Issuance of a capital improvement bond series totalling $3.3 million for upcoming street and downtown parking projects was approved 4-0 by the Oxford Village Council May 24.
The bonds are scheduled to be sold June 14 and paid off over the next 15 years, according to village Manager Joe Young.
The street improvement share of the bonds amounts to $2.5 million.
It includes road reconstruction and underground work on Glaspie and Pontiac streets plus construction of a new portion of Mill Street between Stanton and Broadway streets and a right-turn lane off Broadway onto northbound M-24.
In addition to the street improvements, $800,000 in bonds are being issued for the Oxford Downtown Development Authority (DDA) to finance parking improvements, the biggest of which could be the pending purchase and demolition of 19 West Burdick Street to make way for 40 to 50 additional spaces in the northwest quadrant.
The quadrant currently has about 77 spaces and is considered to have a parking deficit. It has the lowest number of spaces of all four downtown parking lots.
The DDA and the owner of the property, which currently serves as a group home for the mentally disabled, have a $390,000 purchase agreement in place. The DDA anticipates spending another $110,000 ? which is included with its $800,000 portion of the bond ? to have the home demolished and the property converted into a paved parking lot.
However, environmental testing must still be conducted on the property, according to DDA Executive Director Amanda Cassidy.
Apparently, a gas station and auto repair facility used to sit on that property and there’s concern over possible contamination and cleanup issues.
‘It’s definitely something we need to look into because there could be a lot of environmental problems,? Cassidy said.
Cassidy said even though the property would be used as a parking lot if purchased, the DDA would still be responsible for any state-mandated environmental cleanup, the cost of which would have to be ‘weighed? against the benefit of the added parking.
‘If we purchase that property, we’ll have to pay for cleanup and we need to find out if it needs to cleaned, even if it’s just going to be a parking lot there,? she said. ‘That could put the kibosh to it, if it’s too much money. We don’t know for sure.?
The remaining $300,000 of the DDA’s bond amount will go toward bonding expenses ($50,000) and potential downtown parking improvements undetermined at this time ($250,000).
Although he ultimately voted to approve the entire capital improvement bond series because he supports the improvements to Glaspie and Pontiac streets, Councilman Tom Benner wanted it noted for the record that he opposes the $800,000 in bond money for the DDA and the creation of a new portion of Mill Street.
‘I feel that the DDA did not manage their funds well,? said Benner, noting that the DDA failed to use the three parcels it’s owned at 32, 36 and 38 East Burdick Street for three years to create any revenue to help finance its parking projects.
Benner said he also believes the construction of a new portion of Mill St. between Stanton and Broadway ‘is not a good investment for the village.?