The Innsbrook Board of Trustees is considering a municipal lease financing agreement through First State Community Bank to help cover the costs of the new village hall. The agreement was originally intended to be a part of the project. 

The board heard a presentation from Mark Spykerman of the Gilmore and Bell law firm on behalf of the bank in June 2024 and decided to hold off on signing any agreements until the new year when they had a better idea of the project’s costs. 

The board originally approved a bid from Hankins Construction for the new village hall for $870,600 in August. That cost has since risen to just over $930,000 following change orders that were approved due to unanticipated construction costs. 

The original agreement was for a loan of $750,000 to help cover the costs of construction, which board members felt may be unnecessarily high, and board member John Simon motioned to table the discussion, a move that was approved unanimously. 

They had also hoped that interest rates would decrease before they decided to put pen to paper on a loan agreement. 

“The bank was willing to lend us $750,000, which I don’t think we need,” said Board Chairman Dan Reuter. “So I contacted Mark Spykerman and I talked to him in December to remind him we were going to be looking at this in January.”

Reuter continued, saying he had asked to update the agreement with new terms based on the village’s current needs. 

“They’re very willing to accommodate us, and frankly, even to make some suggestions, but the amount that was part of the package that will be presented is for a maximum of $500,000,” said Reuter. 

Furthermore, Reuter said he, Trustee Donna West and Cynthia Freeman, a consultant hired by the village, thought that a loan of $250,000 would be sufficient. 

Reuter said at this time the bank is communicating with Cochran Engineering, who the village hired to manage construction, to arrange the necessary documentation to finalize the agreement. 

The terms would be for a loan up to $500,000 with a five year fixed interest rate of 5.3%. Mike Caton, an attendee at the meeting and candidate for a trustee seat in April, inquired about the rate, and wanted to know if it was adjustable. 

West said the rate would reset every five years to the U.S. Treasury Base Rate plus 2.5%, although Reuter said he hoped the loan would be paid off well before then. 

“We’d probably be in a position to pay it off earlier than the three years,” said Reuter. 

He also clarified that the village has the funds to cover the cost of construction on its own, but that the loan is to help shore up their reserves while they clear those expenses from their books. 

“The reason I think we even were concerned about having financing in place is to assure that we have an adequate reserve to cover anything unforeseen that could happen,” said Reuter. 

Reuter also provided an update on construction at the new village hall, which is scheduled to open in the spring of this year. 

He said contractors were just finishing up on stonework on the exterior of the building and were moving forward with electric connections. He said that process could take up to two weeks depending on weather. 

As discussion on the new village hall came to an end, he also said he expected to hold a special meeting at some point this month to execute the agreement with First State Community Bank and secure the additional financing that had been discussed.