Hillsboro population increases
City refinances bonds, saving $169,000
Staff writer
Hillsboro City Council received two pieces of good news during a special meeting Tuesday. Census data from 2010 is out, and the city’s population increased from 2,854 in 2000 to 2,993 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase.
The other good news was that the city was able save $169,000 by refinancing bonds that paid for Hillsboro Family Aquatics Center.
Interest rates on bonds are currently lower than when the bonds were originally issued in 2005, allowing the city to save money by refinancing. The new rate on the bonds is 3.5 percent. When originally issued, the rate was 4.6 percent.
The city kept the repayment duration the same — the bonds will be fully paid in 2025.
The council unanimously approved Ordinance 1203 to refinance the bonds.
Street repairs prioritized
Adams Street from the former railroad right of way to U.S. 56 will be the city’s first priority for road repairs, the council told engineer Darin Neufeld of EBH & Associates. Following Adams Street are, in order, First Street between Ash and Adams streets, Industrial Road between railroad and U.S. 56, and A Street between Main and Washington streets.
The city can spend about $1.2 million on road repairs without raising property taxes because a prior bond issue has been fully paid.
Council member Kevin Suderman said he drove city streets Tuesday morning while it was raining, which gave him a better idea which streets were in bad shape.
“I tend to think Adams has to be a priority,” he said.
Mayor Delores Dalke and council member Bob Watson both said that after driving around town, they thought the council previously ranked Cedar and Birch streets too high.
Dalke said she hears the most complaints from residents about First Street. The block between Main and Ash streets is especially bad because it has no base beneath the blacktop.
“I know when we fill a pothole, we’re putting asphalt on dirt,” Street Department Director Dale Dalke said of that stretch of street.