Bonifay enters agreements with 79 Corridor Authority, awards bids for projects

The City of Bonifay entered into agreements with the 79 Corridor Authority for wholesale potable water and wholesale wastewater after the entities renegotiated the terms of both agreements. The Bonifay City Council approved the new agreements when they met in regular session on Monday, March 14.

City Attorney Michelle Jordan was tasked with renegotiating the agreements in terms of the length of time either party can terminate the agreement.  Initially the terms were for a 30-year period which Jordan advised was a much too long amount of time. The City countered with two years which the Authority believed to be too short an amount of time. Jordan was advised by council to negotiate with the Authority’s counsel Evan Rosenthal to change the length of time under the “Termination for Convenience” section of the agreement. The parties agreed to a three-year term under the “Termination of Convenience” section. A portion to allow for the parties to renegotiate terms every three years was also added into the new agreement.

A bid for the downtown parking lot revitalization project was awarded to Premier Paving who had the lowest bid at $355,000. The parking lot that is located next door to Bush’s Paint is expected to have new lighting, curbing and gutters, islands, and sidewalks when the revitalization is complete. A $400,000 Rural Infrastructure grant will fund the project which is set to start in the next 2 weeks.

Councilman Rickey Callahan in his last meeting as council member before elections are held next week advised the council of an upcoming meeting between the Downtown Economic Revitalization Committee (DERC) and the Florida Main Street Association which is set for March 25. The purpose of the meeting is to learn what DERC needs to do to have downtown Bonifay designated as a Florida Main Street location. Callahan asked Jordan to write a letter to Maria Gomez, President of Bonifay Main Street Association Incorporated, asking her to cease and desist from using the name so there is no confusion once the city gains the designation of a Florida Main Street.

Council approved apay request to Holley Development for their continued work on the Bonifay Fire Department project. The pay amount totals $81, 700.

The Bonifay City Council will meet again in regular session at 6 p.m. on March 28.