The city hopes to start construction on tennis courts and a swimming pool with help from interim financing and a Parks and Wildlife grant.
Having raised $400,000 of the estimated $1.2 million needed to construct tennis courts and a swimming pool at Unity Park, city officials in Magnolia are looking toward interim financing to obtain the money needed to start work on the project this fall.
Obtaining interim financing—which is essentially a loan taken out from a bank—involves demonstrating to the lender that the city has the resources to maintain the facility while paying back the loan over time. Deborah Rose Miller, Magnolia's economic development coordinator, said taking out a loan may be a financially prudent move if it helps get the construction process started soon.
"If we obtain interim financing at a low interest rate, it would probably end up saving us money because construction costs are lower than they will be two or three years from now," she said.
The city also plans to apply for a $100,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The department, which discontinued its grant program due to budget cuts last year, recently started seeking applications for grant money to help develop local parks. Roughly $1.15 million is available for outdoor recreation grants, with an Aug. 1 deadline to apply.
