Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bradley County commission approves borrowing HCI funds to turf three parks in 4–1 vote
Summary
The commission approved the mayor’s plan to use HCI funds (two loans: 20-year base, 12-year turf) to turf Bradley North (Eureka), Blue Springs and LROD, with an estimated first-phase annual HCI payment of about $273,000; the motion passed 4–1 and staff were directed to prepare contracts and a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign.
The Bradley County Commission voted 4–1 to approve Mayor Davis’s proposal to turf three county parks using HCI funds rather than tax revenue, with a plan to finance the work through two interfund loans: a 20-year base loan and a 12-year turf loan for the initial phase.
Mayor Davis presented cost estimates for four parks (total program roughly $5 million) and proposed completing Bradley North (also called Eureka), Blue Springs and LROD for the first phase. For those three parks the mayor presented a financing breakdown of about $2.13 million on a 20-year base component and about $1.294 million on 12-year turf components; the combined amortizations produced an estimated HCI repayment of approximately $273,000 per year.
Davis said the projects would be paid from HCI funds, not from property taxes, and that grant awards (the mayor said up to $1.5 million in potential grants) could help fund the later turfing of Urbane Road. “We’ll go ahead and borrow with HCI funds, not tax money,” Davis said, adding that he used high-end cost estimates in his presentation to provide conservative budgeting.
County staff described HCI’s approximate current annual interest revenue as roughly $750,000 with a required annual retainage of about $112,500; after the proposed turf payment the mayor estimated roughly $325,000 would remain available each year for grants and other awards, subject to interest-rate fluctuations and future approvals. Commissioners raised long-term questions about replacement costs for turf (expected in roughly a 10–12 year cycle), and several urged development of dedicated maintenance revenue (higher rental rates, tournament hosting or a reserved maintenance line) rather than relying entirely on HCI for future replacements.
Commissioner Offford moved to follow the mayor’s plan to turf Bradley North, Blue Springs and LROD and to borrow the stated HCI amounts with the described amortizations; Commissioner Hughes seconded. The motion passed on a 4–1 vote. Chair instructed staff to draft a contract for the three parks and to present a resolution authorizing the mayor to negotiate and sign the contract once procurement and grant conditions are satisfied.
Next steps: staff will prepare the contract(s) and a resolution for commission action to authorize the mayor to sign; the mayor will also pursue grant awards for the Urbane Road phase. Construction scheduling anticipates the three parks could be completed by July if procurement and grant requirements align with the timeline.
