Imagination Station in Collegedale, the playground behind city hall, is getting a makeover. After a series of public meetings that attracted much attention last summer to gather citizen’s input, the design was finalized. Public Works Director Rodney Keeton told the commissioners that his department has been working on getting the specifications defined and putting them out for bid.
“Four bids were received and of those, one was 100 percent to our specs,” he said, and recommended awarding the bid to GameTime at the cost of $409,990. The work will take around 120 days and should be finished in the spring.
The commission also approved a resolution that will protect the rights of developers that are doing work in Collegedale. If a proposed plan meets the parameters of a preliminary development plan accepted by the city, the developer will be given three years to get the project going, with the existing rules remaining in effect. Once a final plan is proposed and accepted, the developer is allowed two more years to complete the project. The city can change rules then or continue with the original ones if the project is not finished in the designated time. This will apply to both residential and commercial development.
In the November financial report City Manager Ted Rogers said that revenue is right where it should be at 42 percent through the fiscal year. Receipt of property taxes was low for the period but traditionally picks up in January, he said. Business taxes are above what was budgeted for this time of the year, as was the Hall State income tax. Revenue from the library exceeded the amount expected and is paying for itself, he said. Expenditures are also in line with the amount budgeted, said Mr. Rogers.
More financial good news came from the annual audit report done by the CPA firm Johnson, Murphey and Wright. Paul Johnson told the commissioners that this was “an excellent year” for the city. A clean audit opinion was given to Collegedale. Comparing numbers to the previous year, he said that assets are going up and liabilities down. More revenue was taken in for the year with increased profits. He also said that the city overspent its budget but there was enough revenue to cover those costs since the year ended with a profit.
It was announced that Rodney Keeton has turned in a notice that he will be leaving Collegedale’s public works department after 30 years, to start a new career. The city manager said he will remain in the department on a contract basis and will transition out as someone new transitions into the job. A celebration of his time with the city will be held after the first of the New Year.
The next meeting of the Collegedale commission will be Jan. 5, 2015.