Council votes to spend more on vacant Sundial Circle building
By Curtis Riggs | July 15, 2009
Public use rate loan prevents leasing town building
CAREFREE – Mayor David Schwan and a majority of the town council took large steps toward ensuring the vacant Eight Sundial Circle building becomes a new home for the Carefree Municipal Court or possibly a new home for the Carefree Town Hall last week.
The council obtained a public use rate of 4.52 percent on the $500,000 loan, reduced from 6.9 percent. The town, however, will have to pay approximately $10,000 in loan closing costs.
Acquiring the public use rate will prevent the town from leasing the now vacant building to help offset the biannual loan payments of nearly $48,174, which seems to be just fine with Schwan.
“As I look around downtown there is much space for lease. If we lease this we would have a government entity competing with private entities,” he said.
The council voted 4 - 3 to accept the new rate with Councilmen Coady, Koteas and Stavoe opposing it.
Stavoe charged that Schwan and others on the council have “tunnel vision” on the court.
“Our duty to our citizens is to get the highest and best use for the property and we haven't researched our options,” he said.
Coady said, “There were too many unanswered questions and lose ends” to make quick, rash decisions on the use of the building.