The Plymouth Redevelopment Commission handled a number of items concerning the City Hall Renovation Project.
The first item was to conduct a public hearing to declare the 1st floor of the Chamber of Commerce building as a minimal component of the project and therefore surplus. That distinction will allow Redevelopment to lease the first floor back to the chamber while retaining the second floor for the expansion portion of the project.
The Redevelopment Commission also awarded the City Hall Renovation Project to low bidder, Michiana Contracting for $2,089,000.
On Tuesday the paperwork was completed to transfer the title to the City Hall building to the Redevelopment Commission and they also closed on the Chamber of Commerce building. The city attorney said the bond closing to finance the renovation project will be today, Wednesday, August 16th.
First Source Bank was named trustee for the lease financing. The bond proceeds will be held in trust at the bank. Payments during the construction will be paid by the bank once the Redevelopment Commission approves payment.
The Redevelopment Commission also approved the lease agreement with the Chamber of Commerce for the first floor of the building. The lease payment was tied to utility costs including water, sewer and NIPSCO. After reviewing the utility bills from August 2016 through July 2017 the average monthly cost was $325.79 which is the amount the Chamber will pay. The lease does allow for an annual review of utility costs and will be modified as needed to cover those costs.
Surrisi noted that lease payments will be deposited into the General Fund to pay the utility bills.
There were a handful of other documents that were approved and signed for the bond closing on Wednesday.
