LAURINBURG — The Laurinburg City Council will seek public input next week on the feasibility of taking out a loan to finance a proposed City Hall project.
The public hearing will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the council chambers at 303 W. Church St.
It is one of the final steps before the city submits its application to the Local Government Commission for approval on the proposed municipal facility that is projected to cost $7.9 million. Designs, furnishings and equipment could increase costs. The proposed facility will house all city departments and is expected to be about 21,675 square feet.
Also on Tuesday, the city council will consider adopting a resolution authorizing the city manager and finance director to solicit financing proposals from potential lenders.
A financing plan must be in place before the state can approve the project, according to City Manager Charles Nichols. It will lay out the terms of how the city plans to pay for construction of the new City Hall and police department along with the demolition of the W. Charles Barrett Building and Laurinburg’s current Municipal Building.
If approved, the resolution will also include certain findings required by the LGC to support the city’s application and confirms Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, as special counsel, and Davenport & Company LLC, as financial advisor.
“As far as submitting the LGC application, this is the final move forward with having bids in hand and getting all the permits, and submitting a completed application to the LGC to go to final approval,” Nichols said.
Davenport and Company submitted requests for proposals to local, state, and national banks for non-binding financing proposals. Once a proposal is made, the city has roughly 30 days to execute a contract with the lender for the project, according to Nichols.
“They sent out to the RFP’s to give the banks enough time to get back to them and give them a proposal,” he said.
The Local Government Commission, which is made up of nine members, is expected vote to approve or deny the project in September. Laurinburg officials have already met with the LGC twice in preliminary meetings.
Critics of the project have argued that a new City Hall is too expensive and unnecessary. They say the project is closer to $10 million, adding that the city cannot afford to take on that kind of debt without overburdening taxpayers.
But council members argue that it would be more cost effective to construct a new City Hall versus trying to renovate city’s current offices or restore one of the vacant buildings downtown.
The final cost of the project is subject to change after the construction bidding process and could fluctuate up or down, city officials said.