What happened?
Celina City Council members during a July 23 special-called meeting appointed council members Mindy Koehne and Philip Ferguson to serve temporary terms on the city’s Economic Development Corporation board.
They will fill vacancies left behind from three members’ resignations submitted to the city July 11—resignations likely related to a request from council to have all EDC members reapply for their positions.
Ferguson and Koehne’s terms are expected to expire in three months when new, permanent members can be appointed in October.
Why it matters
Without replacements, the board would have been left with the minimum number of members it needs to vote, according to a letter from EDC Director Anthony Satarino.
In theory, the board could make do with only the four remaining members but they would all need to attend every meeting going forward with no absences, Satarino said July 23.
“[Four members] does equal a quorum, but things do come up and there’s a couple of important items on tonight’s agenda after this meeting and then ... moving into the budget cycle coming up,” he said.
The agenda Satarino was referring to was a special-called EDC meeting scheduled for later that day. On its agenda was a resolution authorizing the EDC to issue sales tax revenue bonds:
$8.28 million secured by the EDC’s sales and use tax
The EDC went through a bid process on July 16, according to meeting documents. This will be the first time it has issued sales tax revenue bonds.
The funds will go toward an in-the-works purchase of property located south of Ash Street and west of Oklahoma Drive, according to meeting documents. More information will be released sometime in the future depending on the property purchase, Satarino said.
If the property ends up not being purchased, the funds can be used for something else that aligns with bond sale’s purposes: land, equipment, buildings, facilities and related improvements.
Council members also discussed and approved the bond sales during their July 23 meeting.
