Council approves refinancing to save money

AIKEN --- Aiken City Council will save residents more than $250,000 by refinancing a water and sewerage bond over the next five years.

The council unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance to refund a water and sewer system bond in Monday's meeting.

First Citizens Bank provided the lowest bid on the remaining $4.1 million bond out of five local banks that bid, Margaret Pope, the city's bond counsel, said. The city will save 5 percent on the interest rate by reissuing the bond, Mrs. Pope said. First Citizens Bank agreed to purchase the bond with a fixed rate of 2.9 percent until it's paid off in five years.

"We have not had this many bids on a bond issue in at least two years," she said. "A lot of it had to do with the city's credit scoring."

The city acquired the $7.6 million bond in 1997 to help pay for improvements to the water and sewer system.

The council also heard concerns about a property located at 312 Horry St., which resident Rose Lee Hayes Fox told council members was once a "grand historical" site. The home did not receive maintenance for about a year after a new owner bought it in September 2008.

The owner has been out of the country but still plans to live in the home.

"There are four large entry ways to get into the basement where neighbors are finding large possums, snakes and other varmints," she said. "The pool is not fenced in and is slimy. We're asking the city to alleviate the health hazards."

Mayor Fred Cavanaugh said his staff has treated and enclosed the pool, removed weeds and gated the abandoned home.

Dr. Hayes Fox said she still wonders how the city's design and review board allowed the property to get to that point.

"Why did this happen? How did this happen?" she said. "Where was the oversight committee during this time?"

City Manager Roger Le Duc said he also planned to speak to the design and review board about the matter.

Mr. Cavanaugh and city council members discussed other solutions to avoid a similar occurrences such as more monitoring of properties.

"We're in tough times, so I'm not sure whether that had an affect on the owner," he said. "We haven't yet formalized what we can do, but this does not happen often."

Reach Stephanie Toone at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.