URBANDALE, Iowa — The City of Urbandale is celebrating after it paid off bonds for a fire station early, saving taxpayers more than $1 million in interest.
The bond was paid off eight and a half months early and the tax levy was $6 million.
“We just paid the debt off,” Urbandale Mayor Bob Andeweg said. “It was essentially like we just prepaid our mortgage.”
The city was able to pay off the bonds early through local option sales tax and an agreement with the City of Clive. Under that agreement, Clive partially funded the project.
“We try to put our stations in a strategic location that can serve all of our residents and still be timely,” Andeweg said.
The fire station, which opened in 2020, is located off of Meredith Drive near the Clive-Urbandale border. Through the agreement between the two cities, fire crews can respond to calls in both Clive and Urbandale.
“Wherever the call is, whether it be a fire or an emergency medical call, the dispatch center finds the closest fire truck or ambulance, regardless of the community, and that's who goes to it,” Urbandale Fire Chief Mike Cardwell said.
Cardwell said the fire station, which was passed through a 2017 bond election, is already making a big impact.
“Because each one of our areas is well covered with the station, our response times are quicker across the city thanks to the bond,” Cardwell said.
Paying off the bonds means the Urbandale can put the past behind and focus on the future.
“What it allows the city to do is it allows them a little bit more flexibility in terms of some of the other projects that we need to move forward as a city,” Cardwell said.