The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Friday announced its intent to issue up to $18 million in general obligation bonds to finance a two-year capital improvements program for the city.

“The plan is to borrow $9.5 million initially and start with our street paving program,” City Attorney Nancy Thomas said after reading the board’s resolution of intent. The resolution, which is required by state law before the city can sell the bonds, was presented at a public hearing on the bond issue during a Friday morning board meeting. There was no opposition to borrowing the money.

The city has an A2 bond rating from Moody’s Investment Services, a New York-based provider of credit ratings and risk analysis, and a debt limit of $48 million.

Demery Grubbs of Government Consultants of Jackson, who is advising the board on the bond issue, said the bonds are expected to be sold in early June. “End of June, first of July, you should have the money in your hands,” he said.

An interest rate was unknown, pending the sale of the bonds. The board has two years after receiving the money to use it.

South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson said the resolution provides the board with room for flexibility to use the money for emergency capital projects if necessary.

“I think we all realize what this means to the city,” North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said. “The three of us and our personnel (department heads) have worked hard to get to this point, and see the rubber meet the road. Hopefully, you’ll walk out of here today and hear tires squealing on the pavement out there.”

“I’m ready to see some construction,” Flaggs said.

The first phase of the capital improvements project includes:

• Street paving, $4.6 million: The project will be done in two phases in the North and South wards.

The board in March approved contracts with AJA Management and Technical Services of Jackson to prepare the engineering and design for paving projects in the South Ward, and Stantec to do the engineering and design for paving work in the North Ward.

In January, it approved a $143,500 contract with Applied Research Associates Inc. of Champaign, Ill., to do a street survey, which will be used to develop a priority list for street paving in the future.

• Parking lot improvements, $1.15 million: The work includes resurfacing parking lots at Riverfront Park, Halls Ferry Park, the roads in Cedar Hill Cemetery, the parking lots at the baseball and girls softball fields at Bazinsky Park, and the city-owned parking lot at Catfish Row by LD’s Restaurant.

• Recreation, $1.3 million: The projects include renovations to the City Park Pavilion, $350,000; building a farmers’ market pavilion and improvements, $550,000; Kings playground, $100,000; and improvements totaling $300,000 to neighborhood parks and Riverfront Park.

Riverfront Park is jointly owned by the city and the county. The city handles repairs and maintenance at the park. City and County officials are awaiting a report from Ridgeland-based consulting engineers Burns Cooley Dennis on repairs for an erosion problem at the park.

• Municipal buildings, $2.25 million: Projects include a new fire station, $1.6 million; repairs to City Hall’s exterior, $375,000; and replacing carpet and tile at the Vicksburg Convention Center.

The board Friday authorized Flaggs to sign a $30,000 contract with Belinda Stewart Architects of Eupora, a company that specializes in restoring historic buildings, to do an analysis of City Hall’s windows and doors and other features for renovations to the 113-year-old building built in 1902. City Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Mississippi State Historic Landmark.

Stewart currently has a contract with the city for restoration work at the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad deport on Levee Street.

In February, the board approved a contract with the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District to perform needs assessment to determine if the locations of the city’s fire departments meet the city’s needs based on the Mississippi Fire Rating Bureau criteria and to recommend a location for the new station.

Flaggs in December proposed a plan to borrow $17.5 million capital improvements plan after a Dec. 19 meeting in which the city’s capital improvements committee agreed to postpone a proposed $25 million utilities improvements program until 2016 and consider two borrowing options to fund the first phase of capital improvements.

The total loan was increased to $18 million in January.