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ELKINS -- Elkins City Council has approved the final reading of an ordinance approving the use of the City Hall parking lot and the Elkins Fire Department as collateral to finance the City Hall renovation project.
During City Council’s most recent meeting, the nine present council members voted in favor of the final reading of Ordinance 353, which deals with "the transfer of real property" made up of the City Hall parking lot and the Elkins Fire Department to the Elkins Municipal Building Commission. Fifth Ward Council member Burley Woods was absent from the meeting.
The first reading of Ordinance 353 had been approved by the council during the Sept. 3 meeting.
The transfers to the Elkins Municipal Building Commission are "required to provide additional security" for Mountain Valley Bank’s permanent financing of the City Hall renovation project, according to city documentation.
Elkins City Hall has been closed for restoration and recovery work since Aug. 31, 2024, after a sewage overflow incident flooded the building's basement and first floor, including the Elkins Police Department. The Elkins Police Department returned to City Hall this June.
On June 11, council members voted in favor of Resolution 1931, which accepted and approved “a proposal from Mountain Valley Bank for financing of the City Hall renovation project.” The bank's financing for the project includes a principal amount of $4,108,000, a term of 32 years and a fixed interest rate of 4.75 percent.
According to a letter of commitment dated June 3, from Mountain Valley Bank President and CEO Douglas Weese to Elkins City Treasurer Tracy Judy, Weese laid out the bank's financing offer and asked that three properties be used as collateral. This included the first Deed of Trust for 401 Davis Avenue, which is Elkins City Hall, the first Deed of Trust for 142 Robert E Lee Avenue, which is the Phil Gainer Community Center, and 216 4th Street, which is the Elkins Fire Department.
City Attorney Geraldine Roberts wrote a letter dated Sept. 1 to City Council explaining why the ordinance was necessary for the transfers.
"As a condition of the loan, the City needs to pledge additional properties besides City Hall as security for this loan which are outlined in the MVB (Mountain Valley Bank) letter of commitment," Roberts wrote in her letter. "Although this loan is to the City, as you know any long-term loan commitments can only be made by the Municipal Building Commission... as was done for the new Sanitation Building and for the upgrades to the PGCC (Phil Gainer Community Center)."
Roberts also noted that the City Hall parking lot was added to the collateral as Mountain Valley Bank had "conditioned the loan on having this parking lot property as part of the security for the loan." She also explained that, despite the bank's request, the Phil Gainer Community Center would not be included as collateral, as the property was already transferred by the City to the Elkins Municipal Building Commission in 2019, when renovations were made to the Community Center.
Elkins City Council will meet again on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m.