Gulf Shores seeks $15 million line of credit for schools

By: Crystal Cole/ Islander Editor
Posted 3/12/19

The Gulf Shores City Council is considering taking out a $15 million line of credit for the Gulf Shores Board of Education. 

The Finance Committee approved the line of credit at its Feb. 27 meeting. 

Finance Director Cindy King said eight banks responded to the proposal request with National …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Subscribe to continue reading. Already a subscriber? Sign in

Get the gift of local news. All subscriptions 50% off for a limited time!

You can cancel anytime.
 

Please log in to continue

Log in

Gulf Shores seeks $15 million line of credit for schools

Posted

The Gulf Shores City Council is considering taking out a $15 million line of credit for the Gulf Shores Board of Education. 

The Finance Committee approved the line of credit at its Feb. 27 meeting. 

Finance Director Cindy King said eight banks responded to the proposal request with National Bank of Commerce (NBC) coming in with the lowest rate of 3.75 percent for seven years.

“That’s a revolving line of credit for up to $15 million,” King said. “We’re doing this on behalf of the Gulf Shores Board of Education. There are several maintenance items that need to be done before the school year starts.” 

The City and the Gulf Shores City Board of Education are continuing to make preparations in anticipation of the 2019-20 school year. Some of the primary areas of focus include making improvements to campus safety, vehicular and pedestrian traffic flow, additional teacher and guest parking, addressing deferred maintenance and prioritizing capital projects which could include significant renovations and/or facility expansions. It is the intent of both parties to complete some of the improvement projects in advance of the start of the 2019-20 school year in order to address critical need areas and provide immediate enhancements to school campuses.

Councilman Dr. Jason Dyken said the city is trying to maintain financial flexibility, which is what the new line of credit will allow. 

Police equipment 

The police department sent out a request for bids for equipment to be used on recently purchased police vehicles. 

Police Chief Ed Delmore said the request for bids returned three, none of which were conforming. 

“We found that by separating the individual bids we could also get a better price,” Delmore said. “Our request is to award the bid, in part, to all three of the vendors.”

Also discussed at the work session meeting were:

-A structure fire Automatic-Aid Agreement between City of Gulf Shores Department of Fire and Emergency Services and City of Orange Beach Fire/Rescue. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach fire departments currently operate under a Mutual-Aid Agreement. This requires each department to request assistance at the time of a structure fire. I.S.O. has reviewed each department and recommended the city enter into an Automatic-Aid Agreement that would dispatch both fire departments at the same time and does away with the manual request.

-Accepting a proposal from Southern Engineering Solutions to perform bridge inspection in an amount not to exceed $10,000. The city is required by ALDOT to perform bridge inspections on all bridges and large culverts every two years. Southern Engineering Solutions is an ALDOT pre-qualified consultant who will utilize an ALDOT certified bridge inspector to perform the inspections and complete the necessary reporting.

-Award City Hall Reroof Project Contract to Amerson Roofing, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $150,000. On Feb. 21, sealed bids were opened for the City Hall Reroof project. Amerson Roofing, Inc. was the low bidder for the project with a base bid amount of $138,469.24. There have been multiple roof leaks over the past several years over the portion of City Hall which includes the Council Chambers.

This section of the roof is the oldest remaining roofing material at City Hall. This project will completely replace the “middle” section of the City Hall Roof above the Council Chambers. Also included is the resurfacing of the remainder of the City Hall Roof, in order to have the entire roof under manufacturer’s warranty.