The Knoxville City Council approved an urban renewal loan agreement at their meeting Monday.

This agreement is in regards to securing funding for the new public safety/city hall facility that will be starting construction this winter on Highway 14 at the site of the former Knoxville Middle School. In the last couple city council meetings the council went through the process of amending a current urban renewal area and including the public safety building location. This is now allowing the city to issue $16 Million in bonds for the project. City Manager Heather Ussery says the bonds will not affect property taxes as the project is being paid for by local option sales tax.

“We are issuing bonds but it is not going on the debt service which is with the property taxes. This is being paid by local option sales tax so there is no increase to property taxes as part of that.”

Ussery doesn’t expect the bonds to be issued until the spring.