(5/12) At its May 10 meeting, Carroll Valley Borough Council approved the final loan payments for the municipal building twenty years early.
"Sound budgeting and careful spending" has been the tagline of Borough Manager David Hazlett to ensure a quicker loan repayment. The administration department credited the support of the council and the initiative of borough staff to tighten their financial belts when needed.
The board praised Hazlett for his skills in financial planning and management to accomplish paying off the building without raising taxes. "All the staff has done a great job and they’re all to be commended. It’s really wonderful that we have the funds to pay the building off early," Council President Richard Mathews said.
Extensive pubic input over the initial cost prior to its construction resulted in the original design of the building being modified to reduce cost. Changes included reducing office space set aside for the police department, eliminating one meeting room and one conference room, a smaller library, and overall reduction to room sizes.
The reduction in size saved the Borough approximately $300,000 in construction cost. Additionally, other cost reduction measures were considered, including different light fixtures and floor mounted toilet fixtures versus the original wall mounted fixtures. With these additional costs cut, the total savings in approved design was estimated at approximately $400,000.
Three months after ground was broken on the building in July 2016, the Borough received a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant. The Borough realized a savings of more than $489,000 in interest payments as a result of the grant being applied to a principal pay down on the construction loan that financed the new complex.
Paying off the building twenty years early will save taxpayers an anticipated one million dollars in interest payments over the cost of the loan, according to Hazlett.
The municipal building replaced a much smaller one established when the borough was incorporated in the mid-1970s. In 2012 the borough established a Building Steering Committee to evaluate options to address the then deteriorating borough office, which was plagued with roof leaks, flooding, wood rot, and diminishing available office and storage space. In making a plea for a new building, Harris stated at the time: "The building is falling apart."
The new municipal building was completed in 2017. The building houses a meeting room, borough administrative offices, a branch of the Adams County public library, as well as the Carroll Valley Police Department.
