By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— The Pelham City Council approved a $12 million funding agreement between the city and the Pelham Board of Education at its Nov. 2 meeting. The agreement is related to the financing of board projects.

Previously, Council President Rick Hayes said they had discussed issuing a $10 million agreement, so they would be under bank-qualified bonds. Hayes said it made more sense to move forward with an amount not to exceed $12 million.

“When we had always talked about what made sense, we felt like it made sense to do $12 million now to provide enough funding now to get us into next year,” Hayes said. “That’s where we are heading, and as we went back through everything, it made sense to go ahead and do that.”

Hayes said this agreement also addresses some issues they had between assets and liability, stating the city had a liability without a corresponding asset and the board had the asset without the corresponding liability.

Although this doesn’t provide all the funding for the new Pelham Park Middle School project, Hayes said it gives the Board of Education the ability to move forward with it.

The plan is to have the middle school open by August 2017, and Hayes said it provides a secure cash flow so they can get to the end of the project.

The City Council also,

• Approved an exclusive investment banking services agreement with Protective Services.
• Hear the first reading of an ordinance that would amend a previous ordinance regarding compliance with zoning and codes prior to obtaining utility service in the city.