Westfield council approves lease and up to $12.5 million in bonds for Fire Station 84

The Westfield Common Council voted unanimously to approve a lease agreement and to authorize the issuance of bonds not to exceed $12,500,000 to finance Fire Station 84, adopting the ordinance the same night after suspending the normal legislative rules.

Deputy Mayor Danielle Kerry Tolan introduced the item and said the council needed to conduct a second public hearing and then consider adoption. Zach Klutz, an attorney with the Taft Law Firm participating remotely, summarized the financing and the ordinance: “Before you is resolution 25 1 2 0 and our need to conduct a a second public hearing on this resolution and preliminary determination to enter into a lease agreement with the building court for purposes of financing the Fire Station 84 project.” Klutz told the council the building corporation planned to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $12,500,000, with an interest-rate cap the ordinance sets at no more than 6 percent.

The ordinance adopted by the council formally accepted a taxpayer petition certified by the county auditor and authorized the mayor to sign the lease with the building corporation. Klutz noted the ordinance also pledges a property tax levy for semiannual lease rentals in an annual aggregate amount not to exceed $1,288,000 and authorizes execution of bond offering documents at closing. He told the council the city would likely go to the bond market in late May, following the statutory waiting period after the lease is signed.

Councilor Kurt Wanninger moved to suspend the rules to allow immediate adoption of the ordinance; Councilor Victor McCarty seconded. The suspension carried on a 6-0 roll call, and the subsequent ordinance vote carried 6-0. The roll call recorded six affirmative votes: Noah Herron, Victor McCarty, Patrick Tam, Kurt Wanninger, John Dart and Joe Deppner.

The council also adopted a preliminary-determination resolution earlier in the meeting that cleared the way for the lease agreement and financing to proceed to final ordinance consideration. The county auditor certified that a taxpayer petition signed by 50 city taxpayers had been filed and the document was placed on the record during the meeting.

No member of the public addressed the council during the public hearing on the lease. The administration said the project timeline would accelerate slightly if the council approved the ordinance at the meeting where it was introduced; the council agreed to that expedited schedule.

Details and next steps: the council approved (a) a resolution making a preliminary determination to enter into a lease with the building corporation and (b) an ordinance accepting the taxpayer petition, authorizing the lease and authorizing the building corporation to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $12,500,000. City staff said the bonds would be marketed in late May after the required post-signature waiting period.