News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Celina is considering a loan to repave downtown streets in the most need.
Mayor Luke Collins said USDA Rural Development has indicated Celina could get a 20 year loan with a 2-3 percent interest rate.
“It becomes difficult when you have to choose a few roads and maybe doing part of it as opposed to all of it,” Collins said. “So, I think the next decision would be is which roads we would like to pave and get some bids.”
Collins said Celina nets about $30,000 each year from gas taxes, which could also be a funding option. Collins said repaving the entire town would cost over $2 million. Collins said with finances limiting ability, high traffic roads would likely be the first targets.
“The money we have in savings plus the $30,000 would not service that debt for twenty years, so what we are considering is choosing some of the roads that are in the worse condition and do those roads with a paving overlay.”
Collins said community feedback could be a way to figure out what roads need resurfacing. Collins said in the mean time while options are explored, the town plans to do in-house pothole patching before the winter.
“A next load of mix will hopefully get in a couple of weeks and hopefully move on from there,” Collins said. “We got a small roller that seems to work great and a crew that has experience with patching.”
