By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
The City of Elkhorn Common Council voted unanimously in favor Monday night of looking at two financing options for the northeast water treatment plant project, as well as authorizing the project to be advertised for bids.
At the Oct. 26 Finance and Judicial Committee meeting City Finance Director James Heilman told committeemembers there were two good options available for financing, though moving the project forward to bid is the first and more important step.
Under the first option which would make use of the Safe Drinking Water Fund loan, the estimated project costs would come to $11,385,000. Under the second option, done through the bond market, the estimated project cost would total about $9.6 million.
While there is a difference of about $1,744,000, Heilman clarified in his memo to the committee that these are engineering estimates and not actual costs. Furthermore, under the first option, the city would have lower interest rate that would factor into the annual payment amount for the project.
With estimated interest rates calculated into the equation, Heilman’s memo said the cost difference would actually be closer to about $37,757, in favor of the open market bonds option.
The council’s decision Monday night does not commit the council to either of the two financing options, only to proceed with advertising the project for bids.
