At Friday's city council retreat, council members heard about progress in the area formerly called the "Bus Stop," which has been cleared by city crews as part of the ongoing Rusher Street revitalization program. The Washington City Council met in retreat Friday and heard updates on all ongoing city projects including the Rusher Street revitalization and hopes for a hotel at the Pope Center, and agreed to try levelized utility billing on a limited basis.

Mayor Willie Burns, councilmen Pamela Eaton, Maceo Mahoney, Nathaniel Cullars, Ed Pope, and Ames Barnett were joined by City Clerk Debbie Danner, City Engineer Corky Welch, City Attorney Barry Fleming, City Administrator Mike Eskew, and Main Street Director David Jenkins in working through an extensive agenda.

Councilmen-elect Marion Tutt Jr. and Kimberly Rainey were also present and took active parts in some discussions.

Work is progressing on the condemnation and clearing stage of the Rusher Street revitalization project, David Jenkins said. "Rusher Street is on track, the city is clearing lots, the condemnation cases will be in court next week," he said. "Then as soon as the cases are clear, the engineer can put the infrastructure work out for bids. The first homes could be completed by Christmas 2010."

Another part of the redevelopment, the drive to get a hotel built adjacent to The Pope Center, got a full report. Ed Wall of Stern AG, which is helping find financing for the project, said that the newly formed Urban Redevelopment Authority will issue some $5.8 million in revenue bonds. An intergovernmental contract with the City of Washington will guarantee the debt, he said. The authority will have to sell either 6.7 percent taxable debt, or 4.75 percent tax-exempt debt.

As Wall discussed the numbers of a potential hotel deal, councilmen asked why the hotel deal couldn't wait for more stable economic times. "Country Inn and Suites wouldn't offer to build here if they did not think it would make money," Wall said.

"What's the rush?" said Councilman Barnett. "I'm against doing it now - we've got to build $6 million in water plants, and our hotels aren't making a profit."

The upgrades coming for the city's two water plants was the topic of City Engineer Corky Welch's report. The first plant bids are due in December with a contract expected to be awarded in the January 2010 council meeting, he said.

David Moore of OMI discussed the status of the company's contract to run the city water plants. He did not see any change in operating costs for the coming year, and saw only a small inflation-based increase the year after. Councilmen discussed adding two years to the contract.

In other items, the council voted to put the proposed city budget up for public review at a hearing set for Monday, December 7, at 6 p.m. Copies of the proposed 2010 budget will be made available for public review beginning Monday, November 30, during regular business hours of the city's business office, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With the council's approval, City Clerk Debbie Danner will begin a trial run of levelized utility billing software. Although levelized billing is designed to help utility customers budget for seasonally high utility costs, council members discussed how the payment plan would both positively and negatively affect different utility customers. Danner said that she would start out with a small group of customers during the trial run and track their results carefully before expanding availability.

The council discussed allowing the use of credit cards to pay utility bills, but Danner said credit card companies' fees, and the fact that the city can't charge fees, make it hard for the city to offer it. The council asked Danner to continue to research other options.

Outgoing District 1 Councilman Mahoney, who was defeated in the November 3 election, said his goodbyes. "It's been great working with you all, and I look forward to seeing what you accomplish in the future. I've enjoyed serving with you."