TALLADEGA — The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve a $2 million bond issue to build a new engineering facility for Honda in Lincoln, to meet a commitment the city made to Honda, and bring in a dollar for dollar paving match from the state Department of Transportation.According to Frank MacPhillips, bond attorney for the Talladega County Economic Development Authority, the 20-year bonds were put in the market Thursday at 4.55 percent.
“This project really goes back to about 2002, when Honda announced their first expansion project,” MacPhillips said. “The state said they would be willing to supply $9.5 million in site preparation work, and got commitment letters from all the area governments,” he said. “The city’s portion was $2 million.”
But by early 2003, Gov. Don Seigelman had been defeated and city government was in transition. First Talladega Councilman John Hill and then Mayor Charles Osborne died, and the office of mayor was left vacant until after the next election. When the proposal was resurrected last year, it was determined the funds would go toward the engineering center.
The EDA actually sold the bonds, but the city will be obligated to pay it back. MacPhillips said the state Department of Transportation had already sent a commitment letter regarding the paving reimbursement.
According to Honda spokesman Mark Morrison, the center represents a $6 million capital investment that will initially generate fewer than 10 jobs but will eventually house more than 20.
“Honda Engineering designs and does maintenance on the equipment in the plant,” Morrison said. “We had a small team here, but they will have an expanded role. They’ll do die maintenance for engine blocks, which is mostly done in Ohio now.”
The new building is almost complete, he added, and will also contain some offices. It is located next to the visitor center on the original campus.
“I am glad we have finally made this positive step,” Councilman Dr. Horace Patterson said after the unanimous vote. “It is finally at a point where this is a reality.”
Also Monday, the council approved a grant application to begin an eight-year process of building a citywide, 6 mile long bicycle path network. City manager Mike Stampfler said he had worked with an engineer and the East Alabama Regional Planning Commission on the project. The total cost of the project would be $900,850, with the city’s match being $180,170. Funding for the match is included in the capital improvement budget approved by the council earlier this month.
Stampfler said having a bike network would benefit the city on several levels, including economic development (more than $700,000 coming into the city) as well as the obvious improvements to recreation and the health benefits, particularly for children who would be able to ride bicycles to school.
The proposal was well received except, initially, by Councilman Eddie Tucker, who expressed concern about this project interfering with the acquisition of the Coosa Annex outside Brecon (the projects are unrelated) and the fact that none of the bike paths in the first phase are in his ward.
“We ride bikes, too,” he said.
In the end, Tucker voted in favor of the proposal, and Councilman Jimmy Davis also pointed out that bicycling was a good way to save gas money.
Further coverage of Monday’s meeting will appear in Wednesday’s Daily Home.
