Lakemoor could issue bonds for new municipal center
Trustee Phil Vavalle
A pending first in Lakemoor could provide funding for what is considered a big step in the village's evolution from a sleepy backwater to a progressive community.
A bond issue recommended at $4 million will provide some of the money needed to build a municipal complex to include a village hall and police station. The village would pay the remaining cost, estimated at $2 million, from reserves.
"This is the first time the village will have any (bond) debt," Village Administrator David Alarcon said.
To get to that point, Lakemoor first had to have a bond rating assigned. The AA rating from Standard & Poor's was a pleasant surprise to village leaders.
According to the rating agency, Lakemoor has shown a strong budget performance, has ample reserves and strong financial policies and practices. The rating summary also notes the implementation of a red-light camera program several years ago significantly enhanced revenue and showed a "willingness and ability" to raise taxes.
The village board last month initially agreed to sell $5.5 million in bonds for the project on 3.2 acres on the south side of Route 120. However, Mayor Todd Weihofen, who was not at the meeting, didn't sign the resolution authorizing the move and asked the amount be reconsidered.
Weihofen said the village has been saving for a municipal center.
"I just thought it sends the wrong message to everyone in the community if we saved up for a project and then bonded it," he said. The less borrowed in the form of bonds, the less interest the village will pay, he added.
This past week, the village's finance committee recommended a $4 million bond sale. The cost of the 14,500-square-foot municipal facility is estimated at $6 million.
"Getting the financing in order is a huge step," said Trustee Phil Vavalle, who heads the committee.
Village officials early last year hired FGM Architects of Oak Brook to design the facility, and a construction manager is in the process of being selected.
"Our goal is to break ground in March or April, and we'd like to be in the building in April 2016," Weihofen said.
Village operations for years had been housed in a squat former fire station on Route 120 facing Lily Lake. Village offices were moved to rented office space in October 2013 and the old village hall demolished.
The police department moved from a double-wide trailer to a building the village bought on the north end of town for $600,000. Whether the village will sell that building or convert it to another use is to be determined.