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Police
station plans nudging forward
By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer
A new Holly Springs police station
plan is under development by the city, and financing for the proposed
project was discussed at the mid-month board of aldermen meeting.
Holly Springs Public Works planner Don
Hollingsworth said at the July 18 meeting that costs for the city to purchase
an existing building and land and to renovate the structure for police
department use is estimated by architectural engineers to run about $300,000
less than previous estimates of what it would cost to buy land and construct
a building. Architects estimate it will cost $2,659,520 to modify an existing
building on the south side of town for use as a police station, he said.
The entire package depends on financing,
USDA/Rural Development helping arrange a loan of $1.5 million to finance
the project, Hollingsworth said.
The board of aldermen agreed to schedule
a meeting with representatives with USDA/Rural Development and Demery
Grubbs to work out a proposed bond schedule, he said.
In other business, the board of aldermen:
- learned that Nick Walters, executive director of USDA/Rural Development
in Jackson is resigning effective August 4.
“It will very much affect us,” Hollingsworth said.
- heard that the swimming pool on West Valley Street has been repaired.
The cost of repairing the pool pump and a roof on the pool house
and insurance will run the city about $9,000, alderman Naylond Hayes
said in a separate interview Wednesday.
Hayes has pushed to keep the pool open while Mayor
Andre’ DeBerry has argued at board meetings that swimming pools
are passe and create too much exposure (to liability) to governments.
Hayes said last week he has pushed for making the pool ready
for this season since last year. The work should have begun after
Labor Day last year and finished no later than March or April this
year, he said.
Children will only have until Labor Day to enjoy the pool this
year while the pool historically has opened every season on Friday
of Memorial Day Weekend in May, he said.
“The money (to do the pool repairs) was no
problem,” Hayes said. “We still have $40,000 in the
recreation department budget after the pool repairs were made.”
He said the pool is opening too late for the kids to enjoy a
full season.
“I think our values are being misplaced,” Hayes said.
“We are not putting enough value in the kids.”
DeBerry had wanted to close the pool and to build a water park
at Coopwood Park, which Hayes said would have cost about $400,000
last year.
The public swimming pool on West Valley was built in the 1960s
or 1970s, he said.
Hayes managed the pool from 1982 until 2000 and served as a life
guard and water safety instructor.
He said the delay in repairing the pool and reopening it was
unnecessary and “definitely not due to lack of money.”
The pool on West Valley was not open for swimming as of Tuesday.
- passed a resolution supporting securing financing for utilities and
infrastructure for a proposed new hospital and medical complex near
U.S. Highway 78.
The resolution would guarantee state block grant agencies that
the city would issue Tax Increment Financing plans to pay for the
infrastructure if other financing falls through.
- learned of an open house scheduled by TVA for July 27 at Byers School
during the hours of 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.
TVA representatives will answer questions concerning the construction
of a proposed transmission line in the Mt. Pleasant area. The new
transline would extend from an existing TVA transmission line to
the proposed substation site near Highway 311.
Maps showing a proposed route and two alternative routes for
the new transline will be available for the public to review.
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