National City Mortgages helps start new subdivision

BLOOMINGTON - A new subdivision with plans for new homes to be sold for under $144,000 will be included in the city limits and a few changes will be made to the city's request for towing proposals.

At its regular meeting Monday, the Bloomington City Council approved annexing the Cedar Ridge subdivision on the city's southwest side. The subdivision includes about 352 lots with one-third of the lots slated for houses to be sold for under $144,000, a threshold for what is considered affordable housing through a federal mortgage program.

In its annexation agreement the city waived its development fees to make it possible for the developer, Jack Snyder, to turn the 116 or so lots to build the homes that meet the affordable housing criteria. Those fees will total $868,384.

Snyder told the council Monday without waiving the fees, the project no longer becomes possible to include the lower cost houses.

"We are partnering with National City (Mortgage) and we want to do this project," Snyder said. "But as it is, we are breaking even after the fees are waived."

Several neighbors of Cedar Ridge said they are concerned about the additional traffic the subdivision would create on Woodrig Road. In an attempt to address those concerns, several aldermen asked City Engineer Doug Grovesteen to put a priority on the road improvements.

Towing contracts

It appears the city will stay with a single vendor to do its towing after spending about 35 minutes discussing the issue at a work session held prior to its regular meeting.

The council is seeking proposals to tow the vehicles in the city. The winner of the contract also will receive the city police's referrals for towing vehicles from the scene of accidents and break-downs.

Several towing companies want to see the city switch to a system where the referred tows are rotated through a list of participating companies. Police Chief Roger Aikin told the council that having multiple towing companies has the potential to create a confusing situation for those who are coming to claim their vehicle.

The council seemed to agree they wanted to stay with a single tow company but they want to see the length of the contract shortened from five years to three. Because that changes the terms of the proposal the deadline for tow companies to submit a bid will be extended. The council could take up the matter at one of its July meetings.

In other action, the council formally adopted a change in its water rates adding a $1.35 fee to help pay for improvements in the main pipeline from the treatment plant at Lake Bloomington to the city. The council previously agreed to the fee as part of its 2006-07 budget adopted in April.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.