The Columbus Light & Water board of directors on Thursday approved a $650,000 loan to the city of Columbus after a round of sometimes-testy discussion.

The city is seeking the loan for the costs of purchasing the Gilmer Inn and old Brumley Sporting Goods building on Main Street. The city acquired the Gilmer Inn at the beginning of the month for $425,000 and on Dec. 1, the Columbus City Council approved the purchase of the Brumley building for $245,000. The city will pay $236,500 for the Brumley building. The Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitor’s Bureau will pay $8,500.

The city plans to demolish both properties next year. No official plans are in place for what will happen after the demolition, but city officials hope to draw something that will generate tax revenue.

The CL&W board approved the loan on a 4-1 vote, with Brandy Gardner, Jimmy Graham, Charles Newell and Michael Tate in favor. Board Chairman Andrew Colom, who joined the meeting remotely via telephone, opposed.

The loan agreement calls for the city to repay money to CL&W over five years at $100,000 annually for the first two years and $150,000 annually for the final three years. CL&W will gain the same interest rate on the loan as it would if the money were in the bank. Attorney Corky Smith, who was sitting in for CL&W board attorney Jeff Smith, said that for the first year, the interest rate will be .12 percent.

CL&W will loan the city the money from its reserve fund, which General Manager Todd Gale said currently has about $3.1 million.

Talks grew testy at times as Gardner, who said she missed November’s board meeting, wondered why the board seemed to be moving slowly on giving the loan the O.K. She said everything seemed ready to go when she first got the email sent to board members detailing the deal.

“It felt like we were dragging our feet because, for whatever reasons, we didn’t want to loan the city this money,” Gardner said. “The way it came to me, when I got the email, it seemed that everything was in place.

“I felt like we were not looking at the bigger picture,” Gardner added. “We always talk about how we want to work with economic development and we want to make Columbus a better place for the rate payers and things of that nature. I felt like this was something we should have been jumping on — with the proper paperwork in tow — so we could partner with the city to show them we are on board with making this a better place to live.”

Colom said he didn’t think the board was dragging its feet. He pointed to the creation of an economic development committee consisting of Mayor Robert Smith representing the city, Jeff Smith representing CL&W and Nancy Carpenter and Mark Castleberry representing the CVB. The mayor also referenced the committee in a previous story by The Dispatch.

Colom said the committee was formed to help determine what would be done in the wake of the loan. He said CL&W was not initially informed what the loan was for.

Graham said he did not believe differences between board members were a matter of wanting or not wanting to help the city.

“I haven’t heard anyone on this board that wasn’t for helping the city,” Graham said. “We’ve probably all got our individual reservations. Mine was that I didn’t see the paperwork that I thought a bank would require of me. I wanted to see it in writing because the best way to not have a misunderstanding is to have a good understanding and it needed to be in writing just like any bank would require of me.”

Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.