Council settles on $41.5 million price tag
By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
The high cost of buying land, providing infrastructure and preparing a building site has apparently ruled out the Lando Cain Road and I-65 property as the site for the new Hartselle High School. This leaves the school system’s 52 acres of property on Bethel Road, next to F.E. Burleson Elementary School, as the alternative site.
While the city council opted to leave the selection of the building site up to the school board, it put a debt service cap of $2.8 million a year on the project. Of that amount, the city is obligating $2.5 million and the school system is picking up $300,000. A debt service payment in that amount would cover a $40.5 million bond issue over a 30-year period, based on figures provided by Joe Jolley and Co.
The council reached a decision on the debt limit at a Monday night work session with school board members in the audience and confirmed it by vote at a regular meeting on Tuesday night.
Mayor Dwight Tankersley said the city would have to pay interest on the $22 million loan it is receiving from a State Qualified School Construction Bond Issue, the first of two bond issues to be made under the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Previously, it was reported that the loan would be interest- free. That changed, the mayor said, when only one company made a bid on the first issue of the bonds.
Cost estimates at the Lando Cain site showed land purchase, infrastructure and site preparation costs at $3.8 million. They included $918,200 for the land and road rights-of-way, $1 million for a road connecting Lando Cain to Parker Road, $1.2 million for utilities and $88,000 for railroad crossing bars. The Bethel Road site showed costs estimated at $1.8 million. These included $972,000 for traffic light and intersection improvements at Highway 36 and Roan Road and $410,000 for utility infrastructure. The property already has approval as a school building site from the State Department of Education.
At an earlier meeting the school board agreed to share infrastructure and site preparation costs at both proposed sites as follows: Lando Cain, deed 42 acres of the Bethel Road property to the city (estimated value $410,000) and commit $500,000 toward infrastructure costs; Bethel Road, commit $500,000 toward infrastructure costs. No preference was given to location.
The issue of the school system being asked to share off-site infrastructure costs was raised at the city council work session.
Superintendent Dr. Mike Reed said he has been told by architects for other high school construction projects that it’s rare for the school system to pick up a portion of the costs of providing infrastructure away from a new school site.
Council members took a different position.
Steps were taken by both entities to move the project forward.
The school board announced it would be touring three new school sites on Dec. 18 in Tuscaloosa and Jefferson counties and vote on the employment of an architect at its January 2010 meeting. The Council set a special meeting for Jan. 14, 2010, to review presentations from two to four bond companies.
