Winfield accepts bid for $2.2 million I-22 infrastructure upgrades

WINFIELD — The Winfield City Council voted to accept a bid from State Bank and Trust for $2.2 million to expand water and sewer infrastructure for future development on Highway 129 around I-22 during its meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
The location now hosting Pilot Travel Center and Southern Tire Mart would need the infrastructure upgrades before any more businesses can locate there.
The loan will cover work on the water and sewer, as well as paving a road that will be going in. Mayor Randy Price said during the meeting at least one lot has already been sold.
The city received three bids from different banks for the loan. First State Bank submitted a bid for the loan with an interest rate of 5.89 percent (1 percent of that covering bank fees) with a 12-month fixed rate.
Citizens Bank of Winfield submitted their bid at a rate of 5.6 percent with no bank fees. State Bank and Trust then had the winning bid of 4.65 percent with no fees and a fixed rate at 12 months.
During the same meeting, the council also voted to allow the Winfield Police Department to purchase its own in-house evidence logging server for a one-time cost of around $4,000.
Having its own server would allow the department to log in its own evidence onto the server and store it in-house instead of paying an annual fee of $1,538 to use a cloud-based storage system.
In other business:
- The council accepted a $200 bid from Dewayne Norris for a surplus lawnmower;
- Councilman Tim Garrison asked about abandoned buildings being demolished, which Price said would take another year or so to get another grant like the one that just allowed the city to tear down about 18 buildings;
- The council discussed the status of the paving of roads in the housing authority, with Price explaining the process was stalled by the decision to not remove the trees but a grant had been applied for;
- The council and Park and Recreation Director Gina Bryant discussed the impact of the recent fire, with Price promising the city would make sure the park has what it needs as sports seasons approach;
- The council discussed the progress of the new courtroom at the police department building, which is nearing completion pending a new glass tabletop being installed;
- The council discussed possible steps the city could take to help retain new police officers when hired, and recoup funds the city pays toward their training and equipment if they leave.