By ABBEY KUNKLE
Special to the PRESS
February 19, 2015
The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) met Tuesday morning for their regular meeting. A major focus during the meeting was the discussion of allocation of the excess reserves in the amount of $199,597.
Because of discussion during a recent workshop, first up for consideration was the Fund Balance that requires a six month reserve and is currently in excess of near $200,000. The committee considered the option to change the required hold amount to just three months’ reserves or another amount approved by the board, but ultimately, board member Joe Townsend recommended the current requirement for a six month reserve be kept as is.
Moving forward, the board considered options for spending those excess reserves and discussed the creation of a Facility Maintenance Fund for the Birding and Nature Center Facility. Townsend brought up the large cost associated with the Convention Centre Renovation and did not want to get into a similar situation with a lack of maintenance at the Birding and Nature Center. The consensus by the board was to create a line item in the budget in the amount of $50,000 for a building maintenance repair fund and to follow City procedure with approval of spending for that maintenance based on the City standards. Townsend said, “I think it’s really important to have some continuity with what the City does and what we do.” After allocating $50,000 from the reserves, the remaining $149,597 was transferred to the line item marked Other Projects along with $34,000 that was already available. The board had not yet identified projects or events for the funds, but Chairman Joanne Williams said, “Other Projects is always a category that we do a lot of thoughtful consideration in.”
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