Unified Bank pitches St. Clairsville banking switch, community center sponsorship
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- Unified Bank officials are asking St. Clairsville City Council to consider moving the city's municipal banking account to the local financial institution while also proposing a sponsorship agreement for the community center.
The proposal was presented to council by Unified Bank Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Randy Greenwood, Retail Banking Executive and Area Sales Manager Luke Nelson and Treasury Management Executive Sarah Radich during Tuesday's council meeting.
Greenwood said the bank wants to strengthen its relationship with the city.
"We want to be your bank. We want to be your hometown bank. We are already part of this community and we have been active with city officials to try to get your account," Greenwood said.
The city's current contract with WesBanco expires Sept. 1. Greenwood said Unified is seeking a five-year agreement, which he noted is typical for municipal banking arrangements.
"We are looking for a five-year agreement which is typical and we can pledge all of our securities to back this account," Greenwood said. "We are keeping the one account, which again is typical and fine with us. We will offer the same services as WesBanco. We have other services you can sign up for but that's not what we are here to talk about."
Radich explained the proposed account would be a variable interest-bearing checking account tied to the daily federal funds rate.
"Basically this is a proposal to move the city's operating checking account to Unified Bank. With that being said I think it's a really great business opportunity for the city," Radich said.
Radich said the account would be tied to the federal funds rate, which currently is 3.63%, with Unified offering a rate that would generate approximately $74,000 in additional interest annually if the city maintains a $20 million balance.
"That is going to earn the city approximately $74,000 more interest. That's in addition to what you are getting right now," Radich said.
She provided examples of how the additional interest could affect the city's earnings.
"So as an example, say Month 1. What you are currently getting now is approximately $35,026 with the additional rate it would jump up to $41,000 and that's going to add up over a 12-month period," Radich said.
Radich also said that even with additional cash management products, including ACH for direct deposits and fraud services, the city's fees would be about $200 less than it currently pays.
Mayor Kathryn Thalman said council members were being given an opportunity to review the proposal before making a decision.
"We wanted you guys to have a chance to see what's being proposed and we had (city solicitor) Joe (Varva) take it home and look at it," Thalman said.
"It's a good situation, I think, and it's a good business decision," she said.
Thalman noted council has time to consider the proposal before the current banking contract expires.
"We got until Sept. 1 until the contract with our current bank runs out so we have a little bit of time," she said.
Councilwoman Audrey Brahler questioned how smoothly the transition would occur and whether it would create difficulties for Director of Finance Annette Nichols.
Radich said the process would be completed in steps to make the change manageable.
"It doesn't become so overwhelming," Radich said.
City Director of Public Service and Safety Scott Harvey said he expected the transition would occur without major disruption.
"It would be a smooth transition and we wouldn't even realize on day-to-day operations the transition was happening," Harvey said.
Nichols requested council members review the information provided by Unified before taking action.
"I want to look through everything. I don't want a 'yes' vote tonight. I want you guys to review everything and to make sure nobody has any questions," Nichols said.
She asked that the matter be discussed further at the next finance meeting in two weeks.
In addition to the banking proposal, Greenwood presented a proposal for Unified Bank to sponsor the community center.
"The second item that we have tonight is a similar contract like we have with the Unified Bank Jr. Rec Center. We also want to be a sponsor of the community building," Greenwood said.
Unified Bank already has a sponsorship agreement with the Unified Jr. Recreation Center. The new proposal would apply to the community center and would provide a one-time contribution of $500,000 in exchange for a 25-year sponsorship agreement and exclusive marketing rights at the building.
"We are looking at a one-time contribution of a half million dollars….With that we would like to have sponsorship for 25 years, a community exclusive marketing on that building," Greenwood said.
Greenwood showed council a draft of how the signage could appear on the building, including the Unified Bank logo on the four peaks and the front of the facility.
The proposed agreement outlines responsibilities between the bank and the city and would be contingent upon the city awarding its municipal banking account to Unified.
Unified Bank has maintained a presence in the St. Clairsville community for decades and recently announced plans for the Unified Center, a new operations hub located in the former Riesbeck's Food Markets corporate headquarters on National Road.
The new facility will centralize the bank's accounting, information technology and customer care divisions as the company continues to expand across Ohio and West Virginia.
Unified Bank, founded in 1902 in Martins Ferry, also has a history of supporting St. Clairsville community projects, including its partnership in establishing the Unified Jr. Recreation Center, which opened in 2022.
The facility was developed after city officials looked for a way to better use the former recreation building.