Council OKs scaled-back CIP plan

By Staff
Leada DeVaney, Hartselle Enquirer
A new, leaner version of Hartselle's Capital Improvement Plan – one that doesn't include money for the school system -has gotten the go ahead from the city council.
The council approved the CIP plan Tuesday night. The plan allocates some $10 million in city money over the next five years and ranks items in order of importance. The total cost of the CIP plan is $28 million, with much of the money coming from the state.
"We all agree these are things that need to be done, but we may not agree on when we need to do them," Councilman Tom Chappell said.
Chappell said the city needs the CIP plan in place, even if a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase fails.
"A lot of assumptions are made in this (the CIP) based on the CIP passing. It's based on having the tax and having the funds to do this," Chappell said. "But, even if we don't adopt the tax, we should still adopt this because it gives us long-term goals."
Chappell drew up the new CIP plan, dividing items up based on a time-line of importance. Category A items are considered immediate needs; category B items projects are those one to three years away; and category C items are 3 to 5 years away. Several items, including the allocations for the school system, were crossed off the original list.
According to the new CIP plan, Category A items include:
Category B items are:
Category C items are:
Items removed from the original list include:
Chappell said he hopes money generated by the 1-cent sales tax increase would cover the cost of a bond issue to finance the projects. The bond issue would generate some $10 million with payments of $1.1 million per year.
The 1-cent sales tax increase would bring in an additional $1.4 million per year.