[5/21/03]City officials have begun the process of deciding how to spend the remaining $12 million from funds made available with a bond issue 18 months ago.

Vicksburg has spent about $6 million of its initial $18 million on projects ranging from a storm sewer under Washington Street to studies on a future softball complex. Mayor Laurence Leyens said city officials will seek public input on how to spend the remaining funds with a wish list for spending.

“I think the public ought to have a say in this,” Leyens said.

He said one area in which the city is planning to scale back is downtown acquisition under urban renewal. Plans announced along with the bond issue included purchasing 40 downtown properties for public and private redevelopment using $5 million from the bond and money from the general fund budget.

So far, the city has bought six properties, including the vacant Walnut Towers, for about $900,000 and have made offers for 16 more. Leyens said that since downtown revitalization began, some property owners have made commitments to repair or renovate their buildings.

He said plans now are to scale back property acquisition that is part of a long-range, 10-year plan.

“We don’t want to encumber the next administration,” Leyens said. “We can’t buy all of these properties and put them back in the private sector by the end of our terms.”

Leyens, North Ward Alderman Gertrude Young and South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman were elected in 2001 and are nearly half-way through their four-year term. Although Leyens has said he plans to seek re-election in 2005, no full-term incumbent has won a second term in office since 1988.

Economic development was one of the cornerstones of his campaign, and efforts have largely focused on downtown. Other areas of focus have included sidewalk repairs and landscaping along major corridors.

“Downtown is going to have the biggest visual effect and hopefully the biggest economic impact, but other projects have been very important, like Porters Chapel Road,” Leyens said.

Those projects, including Porters Chapel Road reconstruction, were funded through the bond issue.

Other projects funded through the bond money include a downtown art park and amphitheater for $3 million, the adult softball complex for $1 million and improvements along Mulberry Street for $1.5 million.

In all, about $9 million of the remaining $12 million bond money has been allocated for projects expected to begin in the next year. City officials say they will have about $3 million left for their wish list of plans.

Among the possibilities are reconstructing two Clay Street intersections, at First North and Hope; citywide street paving and four-laning Halls Ferry Road between Bowmar Avenue and Interstate 20.

When issued, bond money had to be earmarked for certain areas, such as public works or recreation, but officials can pick different projects within those categories for the funds.

Interest on the bond is 3.72 percent over a 10-year period. Payments are about $2.3 million per year.

“We’re doing all this work and we’ve been paying for this out of the fat in City Hall,” Leyens said.

The bond money that has not been spent also earns interest, which goes back into paying off the debt.

City tax rates have not had to be raised to pay for the bond, although residents have seen higher tax bills due to higher property values and increases in school taxes for the past two years. Leyens said it is not likely that city residents will see a tax break in the next year because of other planned infrastructure improvements.

That work will include additional hydrants in the annexed areas in the North and South wards, six new water wells and sewer improvements in the South Ward annexed areas.