Charter Bonds offer more flexibility.”

Finance Manager Chris Eitemiller

The City of Hastings plan to issue $10,335,000 in bonds to pay for renovations at the historic city hall building, the Hastings Civic Ice Arena and this year’s neighborhood road construction projects.
Finance Manager Chris Eitemiller told the city council at its meeting Tuesday, Jan. 16 that the bonds will be charter bonds, which have more flexibility in paying back the funds, as well as in what the money can be used for. Of the funds, $5,200,000 will be used to pay for arena upgrades, while $600,000 will be allocated to help pay for the Hastings City Hall dome project and $4,125,000 will go toward the annual neighborhood street project.
Eitemiller told the council, “Charter Bonds offer more flexibility.” He said that’s necessary because of long lead times for materials and the city is still hoping for funding through the state bonding process for the ice arena and city hall projects.
“If the state provides some funding for these projects and there are bond proceeds left unspent in 2024, those remaining funds can be spent on the 2025 street project issued as Charter Bond,” Eitemiller wrote in a memorandum to the city council.
He said that with Charter Bond, the city can pay the dome and street portion back over 10 years and the arena portion over 20, if the city council so chooses.
“Overall debt payments would be lowered by about $288,000 per year for the first 10 years but would also continue payments for 10 additional years,” he said
Under that scenario, interest costs would be an additional $961,883 but it would allow for less of an impact on the city’s debt levy annually.
The council will review the bond sale at its Feb. 20 meeting, and the bond sale is scheduled for March 18.
The city is still hoping for half of the funding for the ice arena project that includes a new roof with solar panels on the west rink and an updated ammonia based refrigeration system to replace the outdated system that uses R22 refrigerant. Use of R22 is being phased out because of its effect on the ozone layer.
The solar panels will help provide electricity used in the ice arena.
On the city hall dome project, the state committed $2 million in bond funds to the project in 2020, but the city was unable to secure a contractor to do the intricate work until last month.
The city is requesting $900,000 in additional funding from the state to help cover project costs which have escalated in the last three years.
For street projects, planned work this year is street and utility reconstruction in the area of Highland Drive, Brittany Road, 17th Street, 21st Street, Brooke Lane, and Brooke Court
The city is working with financial advisor Northland Securities and Taft Law bond counsel to assist in the bond sale.
In other business on the Tuesday agenda:

Industrial land
The city council considered a proposal to transfer ownership of vacant industrial sites to the Hastings Economic Development and Redevelopment Authority (HEDRA).
The city council meeting was moved to Tuesday because city offices were closed Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Day. See next week’s Hastings Journal for final council action on the matter.
The resolution covered conveyance of seven vacant properties in the Hastings Industrial Park. Total size is 30 acres.
Community Development Director John Hinzman told the council the transfer will simplify the sale process.
“Sale of land within the Industrial Park has been the responsibility of HEDRA since its 2009 inception. Presently, HEDRA reviews the terms of sale and proposed use,” said Hinzman. However, city council action is necessary to transfer each individual property to HEDRA prior to HEDRA executing an agreement for sale (requiring two separate HEDRA meetings.)

Cease fire resolution
Councilmember Angie Haus asked for a resolution calling for a cease fire and humanitarian aid in Gaza to be put on the agenda for council action.
The resolution states:
RESOLUTION FOR CEASE FIRE AND HUMANITARIAN AID IN GAZA WHEREAS, all human life is precious, and the targeting of civilians, no matter their faith or ethnicity, is a violation of international humanitarian law;
WHEREAS, on October 26th, the United Nations General Assembly, in a near unanimous vote, called for an immediate and sustained humanitarian ceasefire; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of lives are at imminent risk if a ceasefire is not achieved, and humanitarian aid is not delivered without delay; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Government of the United States holds immense diplomatic and appropriations powers to save Palestinian and Israeli lives;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Hastings, Minnesota calls upon our U.S. Congressional delegation, both in the Senate and House of Representatives, to join us in –
1) urging the Biden administration to immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a ceasefire to urgently end the current violence; and
2) calling upon the Biden administration to promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance -at the scale needed- into Gaza.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Hastings, Minnesota supports all of its residents and condemns all forms of racism, bigotry, and discrimination.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hastings City Council asks city staff to quickly send copies of this resolution to the President of the United States Joe Biden, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Tina Smith and Congresswoman Angie Craig.