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March 3, 2022 ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN PAGE 5

NORTHVILLE - ROMULUS
NORTHVILLE - ROMULUS

Bond funding to save school district $140,000

A bond refunding by the explained the decision to pursue the refunding. The bond sale bid
Northville Public Schools is this transaction was financial. ” process was led by the public
expected to save district taxpay- “While the bonds being The savings are net of finance arm of Raymond James
ers $140,000 in interest costs dur- refunded could not be called all bond issuance costs and Associates.
ing the next two years. until this year and had only two Local Raymond James
In a prepared announcement, years left until they matured, we and directly benefit district taxpayers. Financial Advisor Todd
district officials said the savings still felt the savings was signifi- Knickerbocker said he was
will be generated by selling cant enough to pursue this trans- pleased with the results.
bonds at a low interest rate and action. We take our responsibility “I was a bit nervous about the am grateful for the work of our “While Raymond James is a
using the proceeds to pay down to the taxpayers seriously, and timing given the uncertainty in financing team that helped put nationally respected financial
bonds with a higher interest rate. when an opportunity like this the market, but I could not be this process together which firm, our success comes from our
“The savings are net of all bond presented itself, we knew it was more pleased with the response resulted in these savings,” Zopf commitment to our local commu-
issuance costs and directly bene- the prudent thing to do.” to our request for bids. The bids said. nities. I live and work in
fit district taxpayers,” the state- Assistant Superintendent for we received clearly show that District administrators were Northville and am proud
ment noted. Finance and Operations Michael Northville Community Schools advised by PFM Financial Raymond James could help our
Superintendent of Northville Zopf coordinated this transaction has a strong reputation for the Services and Thrun Law Firm Schools save taxpayers over
Schools Mary K. Gallagher for the district. way we manage our finances. I provided legal services regarding $140,000,” he said.
Task force chooses new location for Farmers Market

The Northville Farmers rumored and discussed reloca- the costs for the project will
Market is shopping for a new ” tion of the post office. have to be funded by grants and
location. The post office property would “The post office property donations. Included in the plans
The proposed development would have been exceptional, are adjacent amenities and
of the Northville Downs proper- have been exceptional, but we can't count on the land parking. Task force members
ty will necessitate the move of but we can't count on the land being vacated any time soon, said the site could develop into a
the market from the current even though there has been dis- multi-purpose facility used by
Seven Mile Road and Center being vacated any time soon, cussion about it relocating since the public and available year
Street location by 2024. I've lived in Northville,” said round.
Representatives from Hunter Task Force Chair Andrew Krenz “The business plan for this
Pasteur Northville, LLC, devel- reviewed 15 potential sites for members also found desirable during the meeting presenta- project is critical,” explained
oper of the Downs property said the market and eventually for the market, the city Foundry tion. Mayor Pro-Tem Barbara
plans for the development will selected the property formerly Flask property and the down- The goal is the construction Morowski-Browne. “A project
force the market to move. occupied by McDonald Ford town post office property. of a 12,000 square-foot building like this has to be self-sustaining
During a recent presentation near the intersection of Seven The Foundry Flask property, to serve the 34,000 shoppers who because it certainly can't be a
to the city council, members of Mile Road and Main Street as however, was recently sold to a utilize the market vendors dur- future financial burden to the
the Farmers Market Task Force the preferred site. There were residential developer and there ing the months it is open. Task chamber of commerce or the
explained that they had two other sites the task force is no projected date for the long force members explained that city.”
10 charging stations for electric vehicles now available

The last of 10 new EV charg- lot near the parking deck ramp, able to charge electric vehicles internal combustion engine (ICE) area while their vehicle is charg-
ing stations were installed in and two units have replaced faster.” vehicle, according to the Dept. of ing.
downtown Northville recently as those installed in 2018 at the sur- The DDA was paying approxi- Energy eGallon website. On aver- The new EV charging stations
part of a contract between the face parking lot at Wing and mately $4,000 annually to provide age, it costs motorists about 50 can be found on many online
Downtown Development Main. free EV charging. The five-year percent less to drive an electric locator sites, such as PlugShare
Authority (DDA) and Red E “We're really excited to have contract allows the DDA to retain vehicle, according to the website. and ChargeHub. Signs are being
Charging, LLC, of Detroit. these new charging stations,” an annual cost sharing of 3.4 per- With a charging speed of 19.2 made for the spaces denoting
Four level 2 charging stations said Lori Ward, DDA director. “As cent of the revenue generated, kW, it takes two to four hours for they are for active charging only
are located at the lower level of part of the city's enhanced EV officials said. To fuel an EV vehi- a full charge. On average, accord- with a three-hour maximum.
the Cady Street parking deck and infrastructure, they will fill a cle, the energy cost is $1.50 com- ing to the company, customers Non-EVs are not permitted to
at the Northville Square parking growing need in the region to be pared to $2.76 per gallon for an spend one to two hours in the park in the spaces.

Grand reopening
City officials and members of the community helped celebrate the reopening of a
beloved business in Romulus last month. Romulus Flowers & Gifts celebrated
the business reopening Feb. 9 following a devastating fire in an adjacent building
which forced the business to close last August. The remodeled shop includes an
upgraded showroom floor and new flooring, ceiling tiles, insulation and HVAC
system at the Merriman Road location.