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221 <br /> THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 1999 <br /> <br /> A special and duly-called meeting of the City Council of the City of Martinsville, Virginia, with Mayor <br /> <br />Mark A Crabtree presiding, was held Thursday, January 21, 1999, in the Lower Level Conference Room, City <br />Hall, beginning at 3:00 p.m.. The following members of Council were present: Dr. Mark A. Crabtree, Mayor; <br />M. Gene Teague, Vice-Mayor; and Council Members Bruce H.T. Dallas, Elizabeth H. Haskell, and Terry L. <br />Roop. <br /> <br /> The purpose of the meeting was a Work Session on 2 items: (1 .) A presentation by representatives of <br />Davenport & Company of a Capital Projects Financing Strategy plan for key City Projects; (2.) A tour of the <br />Patrick Henry Community College Uptown Center and presentation on the needs of the facility. <br /> <br /> City Manager Earl B. Reynolds, Jr., began the work session by informing the Council that the <br />information to be provided in the session represented the long term view of many capital needs under <br />consideration since the prior year's budget sessions. He then explained that the first portion of the report <br />from Davenport & Co. was an analysis report which provided a comparison of Martinsville to several other <br />comparable jurisdictions in the Commonwealth with regard to tax base, tax rates, debt ratios, population <br />demographics and other relevant information to establish a reference point for the balance of the discussion. <br />Mr. Reynolds also noted that Council would soon receive an updated version of this report that would include <br />current information on the cities of Salem and Poquoson. He noted that the inclusion of these jurisdictions <br />further improved Martinsville's appearance in the comparison. <br /> <br /> Mr. David Rose, of Davenport & Co., began the. presentation by stating that in terms of Debt Ratios, <br />the City of Martinsville showed up stronger in the comparison analysis than virtually all of its peers, and is <br />clearly an investment grade community in terms of the bond market. Mr. Rose went on to show that <br />Martinsville's debt ratio is much lower than most other comparable investment grade cities in Virginia. He <br />then stated that the balance of the discussion would be used to show that the City of Martinsville could fund <br />as much as $25 million in capital debt with no property tax increases shown or needed. Mr. Rose pointed out <br /> <br /> <br />