The city is ready to take on $2,250,000 in debt soon, to begin work on a new fire station. At its April 19 meeting, the North Bend City Council voted unanimously in favor of issuing the bonds, which are the city’s share of the cost of the new station.

City Administrator Duncan Wilson explained to the council that the higher-interest premium bonds that the city will sell will help pay the cost of the bond issuance, and net more funds for the actual construction. He did not have a firm date for when the bonds would be issued, saying the bond administrator would wait for the best interest rate.

Once the bonds are issued, by mid-May, the city will have 36 months to complete the construction. Fire District 38 has not yet issued bonds for its share of the project, about $3 million. FD 38 Commissioner Ron Peedee said in an e-mail message that  the district was working with an underwriter, and was a couple of weeks out from issuing the bonds.

Also during the meeting, the council approved a $436,000 contract with architect firm TCA (www.tca-inc.com) to develop the blueprints for the new station. The plans were jointly developed with FD 38.

Voters approved the shared fire station in a Feb. 8 ballot.