Acontract has been signed that will allow the Platte County Regional Sewer District (PCRSD) to purchase the building that currently houses the Bank of Weston at Tracy.
The contract calls for a purchase price of $225,000.
As first reported in last week’s issue of The Landmark, the sewer district and Bank of Weston had been in negotiations for a period of time. Once the sale is finalized, the sewer district intends to move its office from Hwy. 45 near Parkville to Tracy.
Chuck Reineke, executive director of the PCRSD, says the district’s current lease at 10917 NW Hwy. 45 ends later this year.
“The district has looked at many possible locations from Parkville to Platte City to Tracy,” Reineke said. “The Tracy location affords the district the availability to address immediate and future needs.”
Meanwhile, Ted Wilson, president and chief executive officer of the Bank of Weston, says the bank has had a long range plan in place to move to a tract of land it owns in Platte City, just east of I-29 along Hwy. 92.
“Working this out with the PCRSD brought everything together,” Wilson said.
The bank has had its location in Tracy since 1973.
Wilson said the bank is studying how big of a location to build in Platte City. He said it will likely operate out of a temporary mobile unit on the same tract of land on which it plans to build while the new building is going up.
Reineke said growth in the district requires additional space for staff and storage of permanent records. He added that increasing lease rates in the area warranted consideration of purchase options for the district’s headquarters.
Earlier, PCRSD had considered locations in Platte City, including the option of building near the Northland Regional Ambulance headquarters along Hwy. 92, but eventually cost factors became prohibitive.
The sewer district is operated using fees paid by those served through the district. Reineke said low interest rate options through special funding options available to the district are advantageous to customer rates on a long term basis.
“Lease costs will continue to rise while loan payments will remain constant for a 20-year period. Purchase vs. lease results in a minimum 25% savings over the 20-year loan period, using a 3% inflation factor,” Reineke explained.
“Purchase is an investment, leases are not,” he added.
The sewer district is working with UMB Bank on Prairie View Road, near Barry Road, in an attempt to establish a payment drop center for customers in the Parkville area.
Current schedules indicate a move by the sewer district in late fall 2002 if plans progress as expected, Reineke said.