Fund will help finance Fayette trail

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Author: <a id="MainContent_MainColumnContentPlaceHolder_hlAuthorBottom" href="mailto:newsroom@wcfcourier.com">JANELL BRADLEY
Posted By: ss

JANELL BRADLEY
Wed March 30 2011
Posted Apr 7, 2011
5,576

The city will loan $100,000 from its Bolger fund to help pay for a proposed trail from Fayette to the Volga River Recreation Area. According to Doug McReynolds, chairman of the city's finance committee, the connection will benefit downtown. Mayor Bill Dohrmann and committee member Braulic Caballero also noted the trail would be an attraction and economic engine, like a nearby golf course. The money will be repaid with local option sales tax receipts dedicated to parks and recreation. Upper Iowa University also will contribute to the project, and the city is seeking grants. The estimated cost for the trail is $650,000. Beyond the immediate issue, officials outlined future uses of the Bolger fund. David Bolger, a businessman from New Jersey, helped the city get back on its feet financially decades ago. In the 1990s he also donated properties to the community. Those have since been sold. Having the internal fund for special projects and purchases represents an important advantage, according to City Administrator Christie Dennis. In February, the city had $1.4 million in the fund, mostly in revolving loans. The remainder is invested. Finance committee members recommended capping no-interest loans from the fund at $30,000. The loans will be available for capital improvement projects and only to nonprofit organizations. The maximum amount loaned to a single entity would be $15,000. In the past, the fund benefited the community in a variety of ways. As examples, a business on Main Street borrowed $7,500 for improvements. Another loan helped pay for an ambulance. Recently, the city borrowed $155,000 from the fund so the fire department could buy a tanker. That loan will be repaid over 10 years with taxes and with revenue collected from three townships and Randalia.