Phenix City Council has called a special meeting for Tuesday, when it will decide whether to issue $3.7 million in bonds to fund several key projects.

The council discussed the merits of the bond issue during a special work session Thursday afternoon, with City Finance Director Steve Smith detailing where the money would go and the amounts for each of four city projects. Smith wants the city to move quickly to take advantage of a favorable interest rates on the bond market.

The council will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday to vote on the bond issue and possible methods to pay the debt service, expected to run about $300,000 a year for 20 years.

The projects include:

• Buying right of way for the planned interchange at U.S. 80 (North Bypass) and Riverchase Drive -- $1 million.
• A Russell County Circuit Court decision in a condemnation case involving developer Mike Bowden obligates the city to pay $1.2 million for land to be used for access ramps. The ruling is under appeal -- the city hoping to get the price lowered. The bond proceeds would take care of contingencies.
• Purchasing the Triangle, the 700 and 800 blocks of Riverview Courts Apartments, from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development -- $1 million. The city and the Phenix City Housing Authority agreed on a purchase price of $965,000, pending HUD approval. The city had planned to use the $400,000 in proceeds from the sale of land on Silver Lake Drive to Bowden and $400,000 from the Downtown Redevelopment Authority to help make the purchase. The balance of the price would have been borrowed by the DRA. Proceeds from the bond issue would take care of the cost.
• Purchasing right of way for the extension of the Phenix City Riverwalk north -- $600,000. The city ran into unexpected costs in building the extension. The land under the Georgia Power Co. lines where the extension would run belongs to the owners of City Mills. The bond proceeds would take care of the purchase costs. A federal grant will take care of 80 percent of the total $1.6 million cost of the extension.
• Construction and installation of streetscape improvements along Broad Street -- $1.1 million. The costs continue to run ahead of the projected $2 million cost of the streetscape portion of the city's downtown/riverfront development effort. The bond proceeds will take care of additional costs, including a new road design for Broad Street.