City votes 4-2 on loan for Shelby Road purchase

Poplar Bluff City Council members voted 4-2 Tuesday to finance the purchase of property on Shelby Road with a loan from First Midwest Bank for construction of a new police department.

The vote came after residents once again asked the council to stop the purchase.

The item was approved by council members Ron Black, Shane Cornman, Lisa Parson and Barbara Horton. Mayor Robert Smith and council member Ed DeGaris voted against it. Mayor pro tem Steve Davis was absent.

Individuals speaking before the vote questioned a five year old appraisal document that has been referenced regarding the value of the location, as well as how the decision will impact an April 7 use tax vote by residents concerning a tax on out-of-state internet purchases.

“I would implore the council, given the information they have, that they might wait 60 days,” said business owner Tim Funke, who said he had not planned to speak on the matter Tuesday. “I voted for that internet (use) tax twice. Last time I didn’t and it’s because of the things the council is doing. In my comings and goings around town, I find virtually no support for the Shelby Road project. The Shelby Road project is not the right project.”

Funke asked the council to let a vote of the public speak, and whether residents ultimately passed the use tax and voted for candidates that support Shelby Road.

Black said those speaking needed to understand the difference between the appraised vale — reported as $4.3 million — and the purchase price — $1,000,050.

Council members will receive a 3.650% interest rate from First Midwest Bank for the $1 million loan.

An interest rate of 2.165% was offered by Commerce Bank for a five-year term, but would have included a 3% penalty if the loan was repaid in the first year.

The loan will be short term, city manager Mark Massingham said. Officials plan to repay the loan with the proceeds from the sale of certificates of participation.

The city would receive a $30,000 penalty for paying the loan off in the first year, under the Commerce Bank proposal, Massingham said.

All of the banks in town were sent letters, soliciting a proposal for the loan, he said. First Midwest and Commerce were the only two to respond.

Resident Robert Durbin and city council candidates Jim Chrisman and Robert Duckett also spoke against the purchase during the workshop session. The item was workshop and voted on in the same meeting.

The appraisal discussed by officials was done on a portion of property the city purchased from the bank for construction of Shelby Road, Massingham confirmed when asked by Chrisman. The owner of the property is First Missouri State Bank, which has said it will donate the remaining value of the property to the city.

It was not done on the property currently being purchased, according to the discussion.

The price for the road property has been extrapolated to determine the $4.3 million appraisal value, Chrisman said. He contends the estimate of appraised value is inaccurate in relation to the approximately 25 acres that are in a floodplain and not considered buildable.

It would save the city $1 million to build on property already owned by the city, he said.

Durbin praised the work of the police department, and said officers should have the best equipment to do their jobs.

“I have to disagree about where,” he said. “Not one single person I have had contact with since September would go along with buying the Shelby Road (property).

“I don’t understand how council members … are making votes and making decisions that don’t reflect the citizens of Poplar Bluff. It seems so out of touch.”

Durbin disagreed with statements that have been made by officials that Shelby Road would provide a better response time to schools, adding that his own children and grandchildren attend the high school, junior high and early childhood center.

DeGaris also spoke on the police response time.

“I don’t think our response time for our police department has ever been six minutes anywhere in town,” said DeGaris, a former police officer. “Do we need more officers? Yes. Problem areas pop up and they take care of them as quick as they can. …I think we have a great police department and I’m proud of them, always will be.”

Durbin also said he disagreed with the council’s decision to spend $600,000 on the consultant firm representing the city during the police department and city hall construction process.

Duckett told council members that voting against the financing would help reestablish the public’s trust in their decisions.

“As mentioned before, this topic has been a powerfully divisive matter for our city for years,” Duckett said. “You, the council have two choices before you.

“One decision could restore the faith and trust in the council and create a bond with the city, to unite the council and citizens in a common goal.

“The other decision could drive a deeper wedge between the council and people of Poplar Bluff, furthering the feeling of mistrust.”