JOHNSTOWN - The Common Council on Monday decided to borrow for up to $790,000 to help pay for eight future capital projects, although a few larger previously requested projects were eliminated from the list.
The council first adopted a bond resolution at City Hall authorizing the borrowing of up to that amount to pay for the capital projects in the city.
The council also passed a separate resolution city Treasurer Michael Gifford said was necessary from a bonding standpoint. That resolution listed the council as lead agency for any state Environmental Quality Act action that may result from the projects. However, he said that was unlikely as equipment purchases have little to do with the environment.
Most of the projects involve equipment and vehicle purchases. During the spring, the council reviewed several "wish list" capital projects for years to come with respective city department heads.
Action by the council Monday authorized bonding for these capital projects for the city: animal control officer vehicle - $25,000; replacement of the city fire roof - $150,000; utility bucket truck - $165,000; fire department command vehicle - $30,000; self-contained breathing apparatus equipment - $120,000; skid steer - $55,000; plow truck with sander - $125,000; and bucket loader - $120,000.
Gifford noted some of the larger proposed capital items such as bridge replacement and a new city fire truck were removed from the projects list.
"We feel we can handle some of these on a yearly basis," he said.
Gifford said the city may not end up borrowing as much as the $790,000 recommended as an upper limit by the city's bond counsel.
"Hopefully, it's less than that," he said.
The interest rate short-term for Bond Anticipation Notes is about 1 percent, which Gifford said was good.
"The long-term rates are a little more hard to predict," he said.
Gifford said last week that the city as of the end of 2011 had a debt balance of about $13 million. He said about half of that figure represents two "sizable" Bond Anticipation Notes totaling $5.6 million for water and sewer purposes.