Butler City Council voted Thursday to support a state grant application from the county for $100,000 to demolish the swimming pool house at Butler Memorial Park and fill in the pool, which was closed in 2004.

The Butler County Redevelopment Authority is submitting the application to the state Department of Community and Economic Development on behalf of the city, Councilman Jeff Smith said.

A $10,000 match from the city is included in the $100,000 grant, but the cost of engineering, oversight and cleaning out the building could serve as an in-kind match, he said.

Councilman Mike Walter said money allocated in the budget for demolition could be used for the match if necessary.

Building code official John Evans said the Community Development Corporation of Butler County covered the $7,000 cost for an environmental assessment of the building several years ago.

The state is expected to announce grant recipients in mid-September.

Pullman Park loan

Mayor Ben Smith apologized to council for mistakenly signing a document granting the Butler Parks, Recreation, Grounds and Facilities Authority a three-month extension of its $10,000 mortgage payment on Michelle Krill Memorial Field at Historic Pullman Park to NexTier Bank. He said he withdrew his approval after learning that it required approval from council.

An authority board member recently asked him to sign the document because the payment was due the next day and, the mayor said, he agreed to sign. Solicitor Tom Breth said the extension requires approval from council, and council can ratify the extension at a future meeting.

The city guaranteed the loan the authority took out to maintain the stadium in 2015. The 10-year mortgage runs through 2025.

The mayor said the authority didn't generate its normal amount of revenue this year because the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions prohibited the authority from hosting many events.

Jeff Smith said he is concerned about granting the extension because it will result in the authority having to make a balloon payment of $20,000 in 2025, but the extension would give the authority enough money to get through the winter when there are no ball games or events at the park.

He said he wants to see a financial statement from the authority before voting on the extension.

Ben Smith said the authority would like to refinance the mortgage next year.

New business owners

Council also took the first step toward giving new business owners a tax break by introducing an ordinance expanding exemptions to mercantile and business privilege taxes and completely exempting businesses with sales under $10,000 from paying the mercantile tax.

The proposed exemptions would abate 100 percent of the mercantile and business privilege taxes for the first three years a new business operates.

Jeff Smith said nearly a third of the businesses in the city make less than $10,000 and some pay as little as $5 a year in mercantile taxes. He estimated that waiving those taxes would cost the city $2,400 a year in lost revenue.

Some small businesses that don't generate a lot of revenue don't pay the mercantile tax because of all the paperwork involved, he said.

Phone notices

Council approved a three-year contract costing $4,000 a year with Code Red, which provides public notices to residents over mobile phones.

Residents will be able to register for free to receive messages about street cleaning schedules, street repairs and events and activities, Jeff Smith said.

The contract includes unlimited text messaging and a limited number of minutes for voice messaging, he said.

Ben Smith said residents will be able to select the kinds of messages they want to receive.

Officials said the county uses Code Red to issue emergency notices.

Other business

Council introduced an ordinance to borrow $280,000 for the Monroe Street storm sewer replacement project. In May, council awarded a $255,500 contract to Bauer Excavating for the project.

Council also granted Travis Uhl a conditional use permit to operate his business, J & J Technical Electric Contracting, at a building at 311-313 Eau Claire Street, which is zoned for residential use. The planning and zoning commission recommended approval.