Selma City Council on Feb. 10 approved a notice of intention resolution to issue $9 million in certificates of obligation.
According to City Administrator Johnny Casias, these funds would be used to pay for a new replacement ladder truck; a public safety training facility; and road improvements to Wiederstein Road and a portion of Lookout Road.
“The city of Selma is in a unique position to issue $9 million in certificates of obligation with no increase to the [interest and sinking] property tax rate,” Casias said.
The new ladder truck will be a replacement to the one the city has had in service for around 20 years.
“Our current ladder truck is approximately 20 years old with the industry standard having it replaced or put into reserve status between 12 to 15 years of service life,” Casias said.
According to Casias, road improvements included in the certificates of obligation funding would be aimed toward the southern stretch of Lookout Road and part of Wiederstein Road in the Live Oak Hills Subdivision. The city was also awarded funding from the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization for pedestrian improvements on the same Lookout Road stretch.
The public safety training facility will include an indoor shooting range, a three-story fire training structure with a burn lab, confined space, outdoor classrooms and a facility expansion to the existing fire station, according to Casias.
This new facility will allow police and fire personnel to train locally and be able to conduct enhanced training exercises for high-risk responses while remaining available for emergency calls. Other municipalities in the area will also be able to train in the facility, bettering the emergency response teams in surrounding cities.
The council will revisit this item during the April 14 council meeting, where they will take action to adopt an ordinance that authorizes the sale of the certificates. According to Casias, funds will be wired and received about 30 days following the April meeting.
