BROOKINGS – The Brookings City Council approved the issuance of revenue bonds to South Dakota State University during a meeting Tuesday.
The principal amount is not to exceed $9.7 million to finance projects on behalf of the SDSU Foundation.
Handling it this way would assure more favorable terms, according to City Manager Jeff Weldon.
Tim Dwire, finance officer for the SDSU Foundation, explained how they will use the bonds, including the Phase II expansion of the Performing Arts Center and the future renovation of Frost Arena/HPER Center.
Councilor Patty Bacon wanted to be sure that issuing the bonds would not impact the city’s credit rating.
It does not, confirmed Mayor Keith Corbett.
The vote was unanimous.
“The City Council previously gave preliminary approval to serve as a conduit financing entity for the SDSU Foundation to assist with their loan in an amount not to exceed $10 million for purposes of financing certain building projects for SDSU,” according to the attachment to the agenda on the city’s website.
Through the conduit financing, the city of Brookings will be a “pass-through,” or “conduit” disburser of funds from the private lenders to the SDSU Foundation.
“The important consideration here is that the City of Brookings has no legal, moral or general obligation for the payments or this debt,” according to the attachment.
The city has done this for the SDSU Foundation and other entities in the past.
The council this week also approved re-zoning the land at the northeast corner of 22nd Avenue and Minnesota Drive, where Dairy Queen now sits. As is, the property is not conforming in the B-4 District as the lot area does not meet the 40,000-square-foot minimum and the building does not meet the setbacks. The council approved a zoning change to the B-2 District.
The reason for the change is simple – Dairy Queen wants to tear down the restaurant and build a brand-new one, said Mike Struck, Community Development director. The plan will have a better design and safer parking area in the large lot, he added.
In other business, the council awarded the contract to build the new Sexauer Park restroom facility to Clark Drew Construction for a bid of $208,000.
Another expense is $30,578 for architect/engineer professional services, for a total of $238,578, according to the attachment to the agenda.
On Sept. 12, the council approved demolishing the old restroom facility and building a new one. The council’s supported budget for the project was $283,820.
The old facility was constructed in 1982 and had many problems, including the running water not stopping, privacy, and not being compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, said Dan Brettschneider, director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, at the time.
The new facility will have four separate unisex restrooms with a toilet and sink. In addition, two of the four restrooms will have a shower.
“The floor plan will provide additional privacy and an efficient dual-use facility for the campground users as well as the park patrons,” according to the attachment to Tuesday’s agenda.
Completion date is dependent on the weather, Brettschneider said.
Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.
