A divided Redding City Council voted Tuesday to borrow $5.4 million to fund construction of a police station adjacent to the Civic Center on Cypress Avenue.
Financing for the new station was included in a 3-1 vote to refinance some $15 million in lease-revenue bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates. City Manager Kurt Starman said the new bonds should result in a 9 percent savings, or enough to reduce the city’s debt service by $615,000 in the current fiscal year. The original bonds were issued in 2003.
The council, meeting as the Redding Joint Powers Financing Authority, approved the measure with yes votes from Mayor Rick Bosetti and council members Francie Sullivan and Gary Cadd. Councilwoman Missy McArthur was absent.
Councilman Patrick Jones cast the dissenting vote, saying he supported the reissuance of bonds at a lower interest rate but did not support the city taking on the new debt for the police station. Jones added that he wanted to be consistent in his opposition to the plan to move Redding Electric Utility out of City Hall.
The city-owned utility will leave City Hall next summer for a to-be-determined location when the police station is relocated from its antiquated and crumbling home on California Street. Cadd said he, too, shared Jones’ reservation about taking on more debt but voted to support the bond package because the city needs a new police station.
In other action Tuesday, the council:
–Voted 4-0 to reissue $18 million in water and wastewater bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates. The combined debt service savings resulting from the refinancing is estimated to be $1.7 million.
–Voted 4-0 to change traffic patterns and parking on Arboretum Drive to ease the congestion that has been occurring during peak drop-off and pick-up times at Turtle Bay School. With new striping and eliminating parking on the south side of Arboretum Drive, parents will have two eastbound lanes to the school.
To offset the loss of parking, additional angled parking spaces will be created on the north side of Arboretum Drive. In its current configuration, with one lane in and one lane out, traffic routinely backs up onto North Market Street, according to Public Works Director Brian Crane.
City Manager Kurt Starman said the county’s open enrollment policy has compounded the traffic problem since Turtle Bay School’s popularity has transformed the school into more of a commuter campus.
–Voted 4-0 to set a public hearing on Aug. 20 to consider revisions to the city’s schedule of fees and service charges. Most of the proposed fee hikes are associated with the city’s solid waste transfer station.
Jon Lewis is a freelance writer living in Redding. He has more than 30 years experience writing for newspapers and magazines. Contact him at jonpaullewis@gmail.com.
