12-10-08 Council Special Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL DECEMBER 10, 2008 other way to proceed with needed improvements given they may need up to 75% of ownership to support the improvements. Under the HIA, it will take 35% of the ownership to veto the creation of the HIA. One owner indicated that this is a bad time of the year to call ownership meetings given a number of owners are out of town for the winter. The Administrator again noted that the Canabury Condominium process is trying to work through the process so that should the HIA go through, their project costs can be included with the bonding for the Canabury Square costs, thus achieving an economy of scale relative to bonding costs. The Administrator agreed with comments on the economy, but noted that conh•actors are looking for work, therefore, bid prices should be very favorable. Once condo owner asked about the County financing. The City Administrator again explained that the County has some 2% financing available should the ownership of 50% of the condo units meet low income guidelines. He again explained that the County would handle the process to determine if property owners qualify. There was concern expressed fi•om several condo owners about the need for additional informational meetings with ownership about the extent of the improvements needed as well as financing options. Jim West, condo board member, indicated that adoption of the HIA ordinance this evening is not the final step in the process. The next step would be for ownership to review the proposed improvements and make a decision on what should be done. He noted that the elevator must be done. If HIA is the financing mechanism, owners can still pay their share of the cost within the first 30 days without interest. Keis noted that the individual cost of financing will be more than if all the various condominium projects are covered in one bond issue. The City Administrator estimated bonding costs on a $400,000 to $500,000 project such as Canabury Condominiums is proposing would be $10,000 to $15,000. Combining all the projects in one bond issue ($4.75 million) would likely result in approximately $30,000 to $40,000 in issuance costs pro-rated among the condominiums. One owner asked about the variance in estimated project costs. West replied that the variance is due to the board having now obtained some approximate bids on various proposed improvements. He also noted that some components have been removed from the project, such as common area furniture and replacement of pool floor. 5