City Council will vote on final piece of Grim financing

The final piece of financing needed to renovate Hotel Grim is up for a Texarkana, Texas, City Council vote Monday.

The council will vote whether to accept more than $1.4 million in loan guarantees from the Department of Housing and Urban Development earmarked for the Hotel Grim project.

A future council resolution will specify the terms and conditions of loaning the funds to the developer, Jim Sari of Winston-Salem, N.C.

The HUD loans, state and federal historic tax credits, an Environmental Protection Agency cleanup loan, and conventional debt will fund turning the derelict downtown hotel into 98 apartment units and ground-floor commercial space.

The council also will hear a first briefing on a joint resolution with Riverbend Water Resources District to support Riverbend's efforts to obtain local sponsorship for any future water rights developed out of Wright Patman Lake.

Another first briefing concerns a proposed payment of $15,000 from Texarkana Water Utilities to the city's general fund to reimburse administrative costs. The Texarkana, Ark., Board of Directors passed a similar measure at its meeting April 3.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 220 Texas Blvd. The agenda includes an open forum during which members of the public may address the council on any topic for up to five minutes each.

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