Spanish Fork ups bond limit for public-safety site

The Spanish Fork City Council unanimously set a new limit Tuesday of $22 million for a bond issuance to build its new public-safety building, up from the $14 million limit it set last May.

City leaders say the need for the increase came from two factors. First, rising construction costs and the need to expand the building to increase the space for police records and evidence storage inflated its price tag from $12 million to about $17 million.

Second, the city is combining a second project, which entails infrastructure improvements for an anticipated commercial development in the city's North Park area, with the costs of the public-safety building.

"There are a number of costs associated with bonding, so it's cheaper to bundle them into one bond," said assistant city manager Seth Perrins.

The public-safety building will house the Spanish Fork Police Department and some space for 4th District Court, which will lease the space it uses from Spanish Fork City. When the City Council voted last May to set a $14 million

ceiling, the attitude of council members was that the city needed to move fast on the project before construction costs and interest rates rose.

But moving quickly proved to be a big challenge.

"Government is slow as tar," Mayor Joe Thomas said. "We moved as quickly as possible, but we were unable to get the land until just last week; we closed on it on Friday."

Council members initially hoped to build the structure on land the city already owned, but all of the sites the city had were either too small or in a remote location, Perrins said. The new land purchased by the city is roughly 13 acres and is on the southwest corner of the intersection at Center Street and 630 West.

Officials are hoping that the size of the lot will allow them to build future city buildings in the same area and create a campus for all city administrative buildings.

Thomas said he doesn't anticipate the city will need to use the full $22 million when it goes to the bond market in early April and said Spanish Fork is in a good position to have the money it needs to pay back the bond.

The city will issue a sales tax revenue bond, which does not require a public vote and can be repaid using any source of income at the city's disposal. The City Council has already voted to slightly alter the property-tax rate to create an additional $255,000 in revenue during the current year, and officials say the North Park development, which will include two big-box retailers, will be a huge revenue source for the city.

The city will also receive income from the lease payments that 4th District Court will pay for its space in the building.

Thomas expressed frustration with the costly delay but is looking forward to the much-anticipated project becoming a reality.

"It would be nice if government could move like the business world does," he said. "It's frustrating when we lose money ... but at the end of the day, I support the process, and the process is what it is."

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E-mail: jtwitchell@desnews.com