LOXLEY, Ala. — The Town of Loxley received an “A+” rating for its’ water and sewer system from Standard and Poor’s credit rating services at Monday evening’s council meeting.

Phillip Hunt of Gardnyr Michael Ca, Inc., public finance firm in Mobile presented the findings to Mayor Billy Middleton and the council and said the town is in a strong financial position for the year.

“This is a fantastic rating for a town this size and they are predicting a stable outlook for the town. Normally, a town like Loxley wouldn’t receive a rating this high and would be in the double d ratings but because of the way you have handled your finances, you have this great rating. I’m not sure you realize how important and unusual this is for your town. You have done a great job,” Hunt explained.

According to the report, this rating is based on the town’s water and sewer system’s utility revenue refunding warrants and reflects a “strong financial position, strong liquidity position with over 175 days’ worth of cash on hand and limited additional debt plans. These credit strengths are offset partly by the system’s diverse, but relatively small customer base that could limit its financial flexibility.”

With a population of 1,690, the system serves 2,841 water customers and 768 sewer customers and the water customer base has increased seven percent over the past three years. Three groundwater wells and an interconnection with the City of Robertsdale provide 2.5 million gallons per day in total water supply and sewer treatment capacity meets the town;s average flow and peak.

Because of costly upgrades to the gas system, the town sold its gas system in April 2009 and invested $200,000 of the proceeds in certificates of deposit.

“We consider the system’s financial position healthy as evidenced by its strong debt service coverage and liquidity position of $464,000 in unrestricted cash and investments. The town implements annual water and sewer rate adjustments based on the consumer price index and increased rates by two percent in October 2010 for a combined $73.34 per 7,500 gallons,” the report said.

Hunt also presented a report on refinancing the 2003 and 2005 Utility Revenue Refunding Warrants and explained the town will save a total of $673,634.91. A resolution approving the refinancing was passed unanimously by all members of the council.

“We appreciate all the work you have done for the town and for all the savings you have provided for us,” said Middleton.

There was also an issue of a house that needed to be demolished on the corner of Union Avenue and Holly Street brought before the council.

Owners Eric Craig and Mickey Glover (not present) purchased the house for investment purposes in 2009 and paid for engineering work to be done and were going to develop the property but when the bank backed out on the financing, Craig had to put the project on hold and was now stuck with property he couldn’t afford to keep.

The town views the property as an eyesore and gave Craig 45 days to tear down the house and cut the grass and weeds growing on the property. At the time of the meeting, Craig had failed to comply with the town’s request.

“I am not trying to be disrespectful to the town but this hit us at a real bad time and we just don’t have the funds to tear down the house right now. We have gotten the notices and we are here to ask for a stay of execution until we can figure out what to do. We had no idea the bank wasn’t going to finance us and back out when we started the project or we wouldn’t have done it. We would like to try to do a short sale if we could,” Craig said.

Requesting another 90 days to be able to get something done, Middleton and the council rejected that and gave Craig until August 1 to get house torn down and property looking better.

“We really want to work with you and understand your situation but we have had many complaints about the property and something really needs to be done. We will help you with trying to find someone at a reasonable price to tear down the house and we need a resolution to this problem by the next council meeting,” Middleton said.

If the problem is not resolved, a lien will be put on the property, Middleton said.

In other business, the council:

- passed a motion to sell water to Belforest Water System on an emergency basis. Middlleton said it will be metered but only used in the event of an emergency

-passed a motion to accept Resolution 2011-14 regarding the Safe Routes to School Grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation for $150,000 to construct new sidewalks near Loxley Elementary School. Premier Grants Consulting, LLC will be the project administrator for the granted the town has secured their services for $10,000.

-Announced a public hearing for August 8 at 6 p.m. regarding zoning issues.