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Last updated on Monday, July 28, 2014
(BEDFORD) - Financing loans will help Bedford start long-needed improvements to its water and sewer utilities.
But first the Bedford City Council will have to review both resolutions approved by the city's Board of Works at their meeting on August 12.
Mayor Shawna Girgis says the roughly $6 million per utility will help the city meet the commitments the city made to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for repairs and improvements needed to the city's utilities with without increasing customers' bills.
The city has a long list of water and sewer projects including violations cited by IDEM which include 15 overflow points within the city's sewer system, which can lead to sewage overflowing into the White River. The water system faces similar problems, Adams says with some particularly troublesome points located under some of the city's busiest streets. That can lead to costly repairs when the pipes burst.
Misty Adams, director of Bedford Utilities, says the city already is making payments on bonds issued in 1999 for previous water and sewer work, Adams said. About five years remain on those debts.
The idea is to issue what is called "bond anticipation notes" - basically loans based on future bonds. In five years, when the 1999 bonds are paid off, the city will issue new 20-year bonds.
According to the paperwork, the waterworks bond is not to exceed $6.3 million (with the bond anticipation note not to exceed $5.5 million). The sewer bond is not to exceed $6.9 million (with the bond anticipation note not to exceed $6 million).
The city recently adopted a 20-year, $29.5 million plan to repair and improve the sewer system.
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