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Regular Council Meeting November 11, 2013 Page 5 14. Appoint one member to the Paris Economic Development Corporation. Mayor Hashmi said there was one vacancy on the PEDC Board and City Clerk Janice Ellis read the names of the applicants as follows: Steve Grubbs, James Price, Roy Beard and Thomas Dunning. City Council heard from each of the applicants as to qualifications and desire to serve on the Board. Following a short question and answer session between the Council, the applicants and members of the public, Mayor Hashmi opened the floor for nominations. A Motion to nominate Steve Grubbs was made by Council Member Grossnickle. Mayor Hashmi asked for further nominations and there being none, Mayor Hashmi closed the floor for nominations. Council Member Frierson seconded the Motion. Motion carried, 7 ayes — 0 nays. 15. Discuss a low interest loan home repair program available for residents from local funding institutions. Mayor Hashmi said he had met with several bankers, along with Council Member Wright, Council Member Lancaster and City Manager John Godwin. He said four banks were willing to participate in the program for loans to repair homes, and each loan would be no more than $5,000. He said it costs approximately $2,500 to demolish a house and instead of using that money for demolition, the City could guarantee one -half of the loans with the money for demolition. City Council discussed beginning a pilot program in the tax abated residential districts, liens being placed on the property, the kind of repairs that would be eligible, and that the banks would perform the inspections after Building and Standards decided whether or not the house could be rejuvenated. Mr. Godwin said this could possibly be a great program for saving homes. Council Member Wright said if homes were repaired then they stay on the tax roll. Council Member Lancaster said it was a great program. Council Member Grossnickle inquired if the improvements would be taxed and Mr. Godwin said that would occur after five years. Council Member Frierson said it was an interesting concept. Council Member Drake inquired about the interest rate. Mayor Hashmi said the banks had indicated the rates would be comparable. Mayor Hashmi said if Council was interested in this program, he would ask the City Manager and City Attorney to work out the details and bring this back to the City Council. It was a consensus of the City Council to move forward this program. 16. Discuss a recycling program for residents. Mr. Godwin said many cities had a recycling program for glass, plastic, aluminum, mixed metal cans, paper and cardboard. He said it was not uncommon for cities in the metroplex to offer this service as little as $2.50 per house per month. Mr. Godwin explained the cost for the City to begin a recycling program would cost more, because there was not a recycling center nearby. Mr. Godwin said Christians in Actions collected boxes all over town and there were a few other sources that had recyclable bins. Mayor Hashmi said he thought it would be better to advertise the sources currently available to citizens before spending any excess amount of money. It was a consensus of City Council to advertise the current services.