News : Fremont Township continues to seek funding and make repairs following derecho

Four years sounds like a long time for any project. But the dedication of the Fremont Township Trustees was obvious as they came before the Benton County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The Fremont Township Hall was hit by the derecho causing the township to find sources of funding to repair the building.

Andy Jones, the clerk for the Fremont Township Trustees, addressed the board concerning a request for a loan for the Fremont Township Hall. He said that funding has been approved through the state as well as FEMA for repairs to the Fremont Township Hall. However, to continue work, the Township needs a source of cash to keep the work on schedule. The township would like to obtain a loan from the county until the repairs are made and FEMA then reimburses the township for the costs. The completed project will be $440,000.

The township has received $92.000 that went toward repairing the roof and initial clean up of the building. $347,000 more has been approved. Two contracts have been received for removal of asbestos and lead-based paint of $21,700 and $399,000 for the completion of the work.

There is approximately $450,000 in the account but there will also be engineering and architectural costs of $28,000 for a total of about $450,000. There had been hopes to add an elevator for ADA compliance to the building, but it would add $100,000 to the cost so that was eliminated.

Jones wasn't sure if they could get a bank loan and how that works or how they could borrow money from the county. The supervisors were unsure how that worked.

Hayley Rippel, Auditor, explained the steps that would need to be taken but she would only need to know which account it would be borrowed from. Tracy Seeman, Supervisor, first suggested using the L.O.S.T. (Local Option Sales Tax), Rippel, wondered if it would be wise to deplete it that much not knowing how long the money would be tied up until FEMA would reimburse the county.

Seeman cited the Norway project and that it had been funded for the fire department but Rippel explained that this project had been funded through an EMS loan. He then suggested possibly using ARPA funds, but Rippel reminded the board that they had set those funds aside for "county use only."

There was discussion about the Fair Board borrowing with interest, which was set at the going rate, but Rippel explained that they are a nonprofit and this project is a for a government entity and funded by other government entities. There was a short discussion about charging interest, but Rippel wasn't sure if that would be the case with loans for government projects, but would also check into this.

Gina Edler, Deputy Auditor, suggested meeting with the Department of Management to find out what kind of levy the county would be working with or to see if they might have other ideas. Edler suggested that possibly a 28E loan agreement could be drawn up between the township and the county, which would speed things up.

Jones said that they would need about $350,000 to cover costs until the funding comes through. The Auditor's Office will keep the township trustees in the loop of communication to share possible solutions for funding of the project. Rippel said that she would try to see if a budget amendment could be created in time to place it on the agenda for the next meeting so that it could be submitted for approval, and that she would also need to schedule budget hearings to meet the legal requirements for such an action.