Quincy pays $28,000 for unused money

Bank never notified about loan cancellation

QUINCY — The Quincy City Council approved several expenditures Tuesday night.

The biggest expenditure was to pay back interest on a loan that was never used.

More than $28,000 was approved to pay the Citizen Bank of Las Cruces interest on a loan that was never used due to an "error," City Administrator Tim Snead said.

The council approved a purchase of ARM Meters, which allow meter readers to get a power and water meter reading from their vehicle rather than going to the meter and reading it manually. The city has paid about $500,000 for the project, Snead said.

"A loan was done so now the city must pay interest," he said. "It was an error, the bank was never notified."

Originally the council chose to borrow the money from the bank, but later decided to use the money from the water fund. The bank was never notified that the loan was no longer needed, he said.

The council approved to pay the interest from the general government fund.

Additional council business included:

— The council approved to fund road repairs. Several roads need to be repaired around the city and council approved $20,000 to facilitate the work.

Repairs are slated for the intersection of Highway 28 and Thirteenth Avenue and on Third Avenue between B Street and C Street southwest and J Street near the hospital.

"The road is really in poor shape," Snead said. "It will fall apart without repairs."

The repairs are necessary due to the anticipated heavy truck traffic stemming from future development of the city, he said.

— The council approved another $10,000 Tuesday night to keep Alliance Consulting Group as their planning services provider. The group will assist with permit processing from start to finish and long term planning issues, Snead said.

— The council confirmed Harry Yamamoto as the new Public Works Director. Yamamoto currently works with the public works department in Royal City. He will begin Nov. 1.

— The council approved to provide $5,500 to support the centennial anniversary celebration of the city. Harriet Weber, chairperson of the Centennial Committee is organizing a 2007 celebration of the city, which includes a historical DVD and many tourism attractions.

Mayor Dick Zimbelman was absent from the meeting.