Stimulus Benefits Robbins
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Thanks to federal stimulus money, Robbins could be building its first-ever firehouse by Christmas.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has offered the town a combined grant and loan for the $1.2 million cost, and the board has snapped it up.
“This was a shovel-ready project, just the kind the feds like,” Town Manager George Hayfield said on the morning after commissioners gave their OK to the deal. “We are only a couple of signatures on a sheet of paper away from final approval.”
Robbins never had its own fire station. Years ago, the volunteer fire department remodeled a basement area of the old post office beside the historic Elise depot to make space to store fire engines. For a long time, they have dreamed of a real station. The land, in the middle of town across the tracks from Town Hall, has been sitting vacant and waiting.
A few months back, Hayfield decided that economic conditions would never be better: Stimulus funding was available, construction costs were down, and builders were hungry and making deals.
“Timing was right, with building costs down and the Fire Department with $200,000 in the bank — ready to go,” Hayfield said. “It was a natural. The timing was perfect. Stimulus money was going to go away significantly next year. Typical grant matching, the last time I dealt with USDA? Out of a $2 million loan, we got a $50,000 grant. If this were put off to next year or the year after, the cost to the town could be $400,000 or $500,000 more.”
He got in touch with the USDA — a federal agency he’d dealt with before. He and Allen Hart of the agency’s Rural Development section met and talked over the possibilities.
“I met with Allen four or five months ago,” he said. “I gave him a call and simply told him our interest in getting USDA financing. The balancing act is whether we could do the fire station and a new water plant — but it is difficult to turn down a grant you have at hand versus something you aren’t yet ready to do.”
‘Best of Both Worlds’
Hayfield wrote out an application for the grant/loan funding. It’s something he’s done many times. This was far from the biggest such successful application he’s managed, but it could be one of the most important.
On Thursday afternoon, a special meeting of the Robbins Board of Commissioners heard Hart go over the terms of the deal and voted unanimously to take it. Mayor Theron Bell signed the letter of intent and other required forms. Final approval is pending, but expected.
It puts over a third of the cost of a new fire department facility as free money in the town’s pocket, with the rest provided in a low-cost loan.
“We are proposing to you a loan of $712,450 and a grant in the amount of $367,050 for a total of $1,166,711 to build your station,” Hart said. “Our current interest rate is 4 percent. If we make this loan to you at 4 percent, your rate is locked in at that — with the exception that, between now and the time the station is built, if our rate were to go down, we would give you the benefit of a lower rate. You have kind of the best of both worlds there.”
The loan, like all federal funding, comes with conditions the towns must agree to meet. The money comes from the Recovery Act — often called “stimulus money,” Hart said. All iron, steel and manufactured goods, for example, must be made in the United States. Wage reports must be made.
“Those are provisions of the Recovery Act,” he said. “A little bit more paperwork, but we will work with your staff. I’ve got a person in my office that will make that process as painless as possible.”
Using Every Penny
The loan term is 40 years, a term generally unavailable from commercial lenders. The first payment is due one year from the date of closing. Robbins will get a construction loan commercially, which the USDA loan will take care of when it comes into effect.
“The loan we get from you won’t actually be started until after the Fire Department is completed?” asked Commissioner Terri Holt.
The way it works is that Robbins gets a construction loan to take care of costs while things are being built.
“Then we will take care of that once it is built according to the plans,” Hart told her. “We are going to have a deed of trust and a mortgage on that Fire Department. It is not all my money; but a dollar or two of it is my money, and I take that very seriously.”
Still, Hart wasn’t worried about the risk.
“I’ve never had to repossess a fire department,” he said.
First payments won’t have to be made until a year after the station is finished, probably two budget years away, and will be about $36,000 annually, depending on the final rate. Any savings come out of the grant portion, so Hart encouraged the town and Fire Department to use every penny.
“We don’t know if it would come in under budget, but any savings would come out of the grant money,” Hart said. “My recommendation to you is: Don’t leave any grant money on the table.”
As only $1,500 of the grant/loan budget is set for equipment, construction savings could mean more fire equipment as budget items shift to keep the total the same.
The cost of operation is expected to drop once a new station is in operation, Hayfield said the next morning. The new station is expected to operate more efficiently.
“Our budget for running this station is more than capable for running the old fire station,” Hayfield said. “It is just inefficient. The cost of running a new building will be less. It is just a new, more efficient building.”
Contact John Chappell by e-mail at jfchappell@gmail. com
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Comments
difflook 2 years, 8 months ago
wonder why no mention that the Town had been planning this for years, and had already bought the LAND to build it on? Or that the Fire Chief Jarius Garner, has been doing ALL the ground work for programs, funds, etc to make this a reality? so the current Fire Department can get out of its 1930/1950 s, unconnected facilities, just wondering???
dustyrhoades 2 years, 8 months ago
difflook: "wonder why no mention that the Town had been planning this for years, and had already bought the LAND to build it on?"
Article: "For a long time, they have dreamed of a real station. The land, in the middle of town across the tracks from Town Hall, has been sitting vacant and waiting."
MooreNorth 2 years, 8 months ago
dusty, diff's question went over your head. If you knew anything about Robbins, you probably would not have quoted those two pitiful, little sentences. The article implies Hayfield, or Canoe Boy, made all this happen. Couldn't be further from the truth.
None 2 years, 8 months ago
Hopefully ~ the TEA Activists won't march on Robbins to protest the use of Stimulus Funds from the Obama Administration. O' I forgot about 3.2 million of funds being used around Lake Pinehurst for pump lift stations....Maybe they'll bypass Robbins on their bus trips to Washington to complain about the benefits provided by those funds. Need a new water tank in Robbins? Take advantage of those federal dollars before November!
bearcreekcougar 2 years, 8 months ago
how could a 10,000 square foot building possibly be more efficient to run than the current approx. 3,000 square foot fire department? this seems unrealistic. maybe manager hayfield is relying on obama to send some more money to cover the extra expenses...
MooreNorth 2 years, 8 months ago
bcc I was wondering the same thing?
JohnChappell 2 years, 8 months ago
I was told most of the square footage is bays for fire truck storage that don't need heating/AC like the other parts. Those other parts, being of modern design, can be heated and cooled more efficiently than the old post office building. Hope this helps.
davidlambert87 2 years, 8 months ago
That's what I heard as well John.
MooreNorth 2 years, 8 months ago
That sounds good, but still not realistic. Upgrading the hvac at the current location would make more sense, if that is one of the major considerations. Continually spending large sums of money, on projects that don't produce income, or jobs, is bothersome. Figuring out ways to get grants, just for spending's sake, is not a recovery plan.
JohnChappell 2 years, 8 months ago
Just a reminder: I don't have a personal opinion as to whether Robbins should take the grant and borrow this much money for its first-ever fire station or borrow way more to rebuild its water plant without a grant in sight.
Fact is, with a $3.1 million borrowing limit it probably cannot do both. The board will hear a report about the water plant this afternoon (Monday, 20 Sept.) from Hobbs-Upchurch. Their action last week locked in the USDA grant and loan, but doesn't absolutely require the town to take the deal if commissioners decide to do something else.
Tough choices, but only they can weigh the relative value and importance to the future of my old hometown. As an aside to one comment, Fire Chief Jarius Garner works for a living and couldn't be at the 4:30 p.m. meeting with USDA. Former Fire Chief Lynn Loy is on the board and was present as were several fire fighters.
What the town manager did was know — based on previous experience — that USDA grant/loan deals might be available. He found one, and wrote the successful application. That's a manager's job. Hayfield gave plenty of credit during our interview to the fire department for all their early work to make this what he called a “shovel-ready” project. If that wasn’t clear in the story, it’s the reporter’s fault. Mea culpa.
I’ll post news from today's special meeting to our web editor right before I go to the Carthage board meeting where they'll decide whether to move the James Rogers McConnell memorial plaque to Gilliam-McConnell “International” Air Field near the popular Pik-n-Pig restaurant.
Hot-Diggity-Dog. Breaking news. Stay tuned: check back. More to come.
hometown24 2 years, 8 months ago
The Town of Robbins should never fear, as long as Super Town Manager George Haybale is here. He is able to write grant applications with leaps and bounds. If there is grant money to be had, then he will find it and get it. Maybe after the theater opens, there can be a production depicting his super powers. It could also star his fellow super hero friends, Wonder Mayor Theron Bell, Special Agent Boswell, and High Ho Timber Hal Davis!!
The above account is obviously total fiction, as is the fact that Hayfield single handedly fought to get the fire department a new facility!! Where is the recognition that is due Fire Chief Jarius Garner..I do believe that Mr. Chappell left that out. Grant it he did mention on here that Hayfield gave credit to Garner, but that was not published in the paper, as it should have been!! I think this article was a crass attempt to make Hayfield look like a good town manager, but too late, everyone knows that is not true!!
bearcreekcougar 2 years, 8 months ago
extremely well said hometown24!!!!
JohnChappell 2 years, 8 months ago
Because some commissioners in Carthage have conflicts in their schedules, their September meeting will take place tonight (Sept. 21, 2010) at 7 in the McDonald building.
JohnChappell 2 years, 8 months ago
By the way…
I see several commentators appear to have complaints about the town manager in Robbins. They don't say what their complaints actually are, instead preferring sarcasm and invective. Wonder what exactly bothers them? They don't say.
The story sticks to the facts. It was not intended as praise either for the fire department or the manager, but as information. I think people benefit from knowing how USDA peddles its grant/loan packages, how grant applications are written, and -- in this case especially -- what town managers do.
Their authority, the very nature of their jobs, is not set by town boards but in statutes passed by the N.C. General Assembly. When Mickey Brown led the Robbins board in the charter change, he knew he was losing power as mayor. They knew they were losing power as commissioners. They took that step in what they viewed as the best interest of their town.
It was hard to find an experienced manager willing to work as the first one in Robbins. Brant Sikes stepped up, willing to learn on the job and the first to admit that's what he was doing. When he left, the town had a very experienced interim manager before settling on Hayfield as the first experienced manager to take the fulltime position.
Every town manager I've covered over the past decade had the same attacks leveled against them by discontented citizens. Maybe its the nature of the job. I use the word attacks advisedly, as few critics specify the reasons for their dislike of whatever manager they complain about.
In any case, it is the town board that measures the effectiveness of their two employees: town attorney and town manager. The board has no other hire/fire authority and must by law stay out of its manager's hiring and firing.
At 9 p.m. Oct. 5 in a called meeting the Robbins board will go over the Key Performance Indicators they previously set and use them to assess Hayfield's performance. See the story in The Pilot.
difflook 2 years, 8 months ago
UT OHHHH, SEEMS Someone has hit a chord in the gentleman reporter!!!, someone told me to ask, the MANAGER??? how many business owners has he met, how many businesses has he been in??? did you know that he printed in a public document last meeting CHASTIZING former Finanace Officer for WASTING her town time??? in volunteering her time to keep the community board up to date??? he must have not learened that Robbins is a "community minded" place, so if he is so profezzzzzional, why he put such negative words in a public document????
JohnChappell 2 years, 8 months ago
Please be courteous. Don't post comments that are abusive, defamatory, illegal, libelous or obscene. It is possible to debate without engaging in personal attacks.
But we already said that. See above.