Polo Council accepts $1.93 million bid for new city hall

POLO — City of Polo and Buffalo Township officials plan to have a new home by the end of this year.

On Feb. 19, the Polo City Council voted 4-0 to accept a $1.93 million bid from Irving Construction Company, of DeKalb, to construct a new city/township hall at 118 N. Franklin Ave. Council members also unanimously voted to hire Fehr Graham for construction engineering services related to the project for $139,000.

Aldermen Jim Busser and Tommy Bardell were absent.

“It’s designed so it’s sufficient for any future needs we may have,” Mayor Doug Knapp said. “I know it’s going to be a lot of money, but it’s going to be a feather in our hat. We didn’t put any bells and whistles on it.”

The building will house city of Polo and Buffalo Township officials. Both municipalities are contributing to the cost of the project.

Buffalo Township is putting $250,000 toward a downpayment, and the city is putting $500,000 toward that, Knapp said. Polo then is going to take out a 30-year loan for the remainder of the cost, he said.

Which bank the loan will be through is not yet decided, Knapp said, adding that he and Alderman Randy Schoon had visited three banks as of Monday night and were planning to visit a fourth on Feb. 20.

Alderman Keith Chesnut expressed concerns about the cost and whether it would impact the city’s ability to pay for other upcoming expenses, including demolishing 601 S. Division Ave. and bringing city employee salaries “up to where they should be.”

“The city’s got a lot of other projects going on,” Chesnut said. “Can we afford everything?”

Schoon responded that many of the projects have grant funding. He said he didn’t feel paying for a new city hall would impact their ability to pay for other things.

“It’s a lot of money, but the only way we can come and expect people to invest in this town is we have to put a little bit of money in ourselves,” Alderman Larry Weaver said.