By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Pelham will have an extra $1.5 million to use for future capital improvement projects as a result of a city bond refinancing approved by the Pelham City Council during an Aug. 5 meeting.

During the meeting, the council voted unanimously to refinance a total of about $22 million in debt, which represents the majority of Pelham’s outstanding debt, said Pelham Finance Director Tom Seale.

Because the refinancing originally was scheduled to be a first reading, the council voted to suspend the rules of order to vote on the matter during the Aug. 5 meeting.

Of the four bond measures refinanced, three were refinanced for their original term lengths, meaning the city will still pay them off on their original dates. The fourth bond measure’s term was shortened by one year, meaning the city will pay it off sooner than originally projected.

All four bond measures were refinanced with significantly lower interest rates, meaning the city will save about $1.5 million, said City Council President Rick Hayes. The city will use the savings to help fund capital projects in the city.

“We will use it to fund a number of things on our list right now,” Hayes said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for us.”

Councilwoman Beth McMillan currently is working on a list of potential capital improvement projects to be funded with the savings.