The city of Ouray will hire an attorney to help the city save money on the loan it took out two years ago to pay off the expansion and renovation of the Hot Springs Pool.
City councilors voted 4-1 Monday to hire Avon-based firm Garfield & Hecht to represent them in their efforts to refinance the two-year-old loan. Attorneys with the firm will be paid up to $25,000, plus an additional $1,000 for expenses. In their engagement letter to the city, the firm noted that the current rate for Paul ...
The city of Ouray will hire an attorney to help the city save money on the loan it took out two years ago to pay off the expansion and renovation of the Hot Springs Pool.
City councilors voted 4-1 Monday to hire Avon-based firm Garfield & Hecht to represent them in their efforts to refinance the two-year-old loan. Attorneys with the firm will be paid up to $25,000, plus an additional $1,000 for expenses. In their engagement letter to the city, the firm noted that the current rate for Paul Wisor, the attorney who will work with the city and brokerage firm Northland Securities to secure a lower interest rate, is $350 an hour.
Mayor Pro Tem Glenn Boyd cast the dissenting vote.
“I think it’s needed. It’s hard to swallow $350 an hour,” he said.
City officials in 2017 issued what are known as certificates of participation, a lease financing arrangement in which the city took out a 25-year, $2.6 million loan against the Community Center. The loan was needed to pay off improvements to the pool, which proved more costly than originally anticipated.
City Administrator Justin Perry said the city hopes to lower the 4 percent interest rate on the loan to 2.5 percent or less. A Northland Securities representative has told the city it could save an estimated $650,000 by refinancing the loan.
In other business, councilors approved a utility rate increase that will take effect Jan. 1. The amount residents will pay for sewer, water, trash and recycling services will go up by $4.05 per month per equivalent residential unit.
