Canyon City Commission votes to move forward. Photo via City of Canyon
Canyon City Commision met earlier this week to discuss several items, including moving forward with a potential bond which may be on the ballot next May.
The bond, if it is placed on the ballot, would likely be to fund construction of a new police station and renovations for Canyon City Hall. During the meeting, the commission voted unanimously to move forward with engaging Sims + Architects to begin “services associated with preliminary design and cost estimates.” This will cost the city $150,000 and is one of the first steps for the city to take ahead of a potential bond.
“The $150,000 will get us the information that we need to present to our citizens to make an educated vote, hopefully in May of ‘23,” said Assistant City Manager Jon Behrens. He further stated that “we gotta spend this hundred and fifty (thousand dollars) to get us to the point that we know” what the construction and renovation will cost, and that “there is no way” to give an estimate until they move forward.
Mayor Gary Hinders noted that rising interest rates could be a problem for the project. “Bond rates, treasury rates are really not moving in our direction right now. I mean, it just may be what it is. I think that’s something we’ve gotta look at.”
Most other action items on the agenda also passed unanimously. Most of these items involved taking steps to apply for various grants. The only exception was Item 11, which involved making an agreement with the company Paymentus for utility payment services. That item was not taken up by the commission. According to Hinders, that item was not taken up because the commission still needed further information. The item “is one we don’t have all the information on at this time” said Hinders.