Arcadia accepts large donation

Arcadia officials formally accepted an over $338,000 donation from the estate of the late Ramona English.

Trustees for the bequeath ask that the money be distributed to the city’s payment for the new library, $50,000; the city’s share of the Arcadia Ambulance building, $50,000;  the library board, $10,000; the Arcadia Fire Department,  $10,000; Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, welcome sign, $50,000; park improvements, $50,000; police department equipment, $10,000; police department for child and elder safety, $10,000; and for cost overruns for the ambulance building or items on the city’s wish list, $88,452.

“This is a huge thank you for an amazing donation,” said Mayor John Kimmel at a special council meeting last Wednesday.

English died in December of 2023 at the age of 93. She and her late husband, John, operated English Insurance Company in Arcadia for 43 years. She was also active in church and community activities, according to her obituary.

Kevin Krysinski of Johnson Block told the council that the auditors’ draft financial overview of the city found the city’s general fund “healthy” and that Arcadia’s $2.3 million in general obligation debt is well below the state-set limit of $12 million.

Arcadia’s finances were shaped in part by use of a Department of Natural Resources grant to cover flood project expenses, some of which the city used to pay off loans and a decline in the amount of taxes paid by city utilities due to a school tax rate drop, Krysinski said.

The auditors also suggested the city’s electric utility assess whether to consider a rate increase. The utility’s last increase was in 2018.