The City of Lacombe passed a borrowing Bylaw which will allow for the development of Henners Heights.
The total borrowing amount of Bylaw 460 is $1,820,000 and will carry both interest and principal payments with semi annual payments. The annual debt servicing cost will be approximately $107,000 per year at the current interest rates of 3.236% at 25 Years amortization.
“Council voted in favour of passing a borrowing bylaw which allows the City to fund an important infrastructure project on the north end of the City of Lacombe,” Jordan Thompson, director of Planning and Operations, said. “That project being the Henners Pond Outflow project, which will allow for the development of Henners Heights, as well as Charis Village beyond it’s current phase.”
Currently, Charis Village has begun Phase 1 of their plus 55 housing project, but further developments in the expansive area required an outflow to be build before permits could be issued by the City.
There was some concerned, as expressed in Council’s ‘Coffee with Council’ minutes, that the City was borrowing in a way similar to the development of Lacombe Market Square, however Thompson said this is not the case.
“The debt borrowing is the mechanism in which Council can access the capital to pay the bill. Over time, there is the off-site levy which the City collects from Henners Heights and any other area that benefits from that outlet. This is from developers. The developers will pay a fee when they propose to develop land and a portion of that fee will go towards paying back this borrowing,” he said.
The project is slated to be completed early next year, meaning that permits can then be issued. Thompson expects — due to the large size of the property — that development will take place upwards and beyond 20 years to fully develop.