Bolivar council approves land purchase authorization, multiple ordinances and a housing construction bid

The Bolivar City Council on Tuesday approved financing or spending authorizations for several projects, authorized a land purchase tied to a proposed $25 million private investment, adopted three ordinances and awarded a housing construction contract tied to a USDA grant.

Mayor (unnamed) told the council the proposed private investment, described in the meeting as "a $25,000,000 community investment in the city of Boulder," would be supported in part by purchasing and donating land. "I'm asking the council to approve to give me the approval to purchase this land, approval up to $375,000 not to exceed that, and work with our attorney on the closing of that property," the mayor said. The council voted to authorize up to $375,000 and approved financing terms recommending a five-year loan at 4.25% with Centennial Bank.

Why it matters: Council members said the purchase could help attract a large private investment and that the city had budget flexibility from recently retired debt and county changes to dispatch funding. Some council members favored using fund balance; others said preserving reserves for…