The village of Innsbrook entered into a lease financing agreement for up to $500,000 with First State Community Bank at a special meeting on March 12. 

The agreement was approved unanimously by the board of trustees and had been discussed at several prior meetings as an avenue to shore up the village’s reserves while construction of the new village hall was nearing completion. 

That project’s costs have risen to over $1 million, but Board Chairman Dan Reuter assured attendees at the meeting the village had the funds for the construction and the financing was only being secured to shore up the village’s coffers in the event of unforeseen expenses. 

“We are at a point that our unrestricted funds are sufficient to really pay what we’ve committed to for the construction, but we know … there’s certainly going to be other expenses. We have expenses here in the village and unexpected expenses need to be thought about,” said Reuter. 

Per the agreement, the village must draw at least $250,000, but can draw up to $500,000 in additional funds. 

“Right now (the village) has more than two years worth of fund balance expenditures, so in order to not draw that down beyond one year, they’re borrowing this money so that they have that cushion and that availability if something happened,” said Village Consultant Cynthia Freeman. 

Mark Spykerman, with the Gilmore and Bell Law Firm, handled the specifics of the agreement with the village and was in attendance at the meeting. 

He clarified the funds would be paid back with 5.33% interest in the next five years, although there was an option to pay the balance off entirely after three years without any penalties. 

Reuter and the board were comfortable that they would have the debt paid off within five years, and likely within three, but Spykerman clarified if they failed to do so, the village would be forced to refinance. 

Reuter said the board was confident they would have the debt cleared well within the term of the agreement and said they did not expect to draw more than the $250,000 minimum. 

“Frankly, I don’t think any of us anticipate that we’re going to have to draw on any of that additional money,” said Reuter. 

The financing agreement was also a topic of discussion at the candidate forum the village held on March 11, with candidates like Mike Caton saying clearing the debt from the village’s finances would be one of their first priorities. 

Construction has continued to advance on the new village hall and contractor Hankins Construction expects the project to be completed this spring.