A bond issue to finance the construction of Pinson’s new city park has been approved by the city council.

The $2 million issue, which will also pay down a similar general obligation warrant from 2007, was passed unanimously during the council’s regular session Thursday night.

The act was the second of two regarding the new park; another authorized purchase of equipment for the park’s splash pad and playground areas. That action authorizes the spending of $277,850 to J.A. Dawson Equipment, which sells the items through the U.S. Communities municipal cooperative system.

The equipment purchase drew a lone “no” vote from Councilman Robbie Roberts, who had pushed for several months for the use of the non-profit group Kaboom for the playground. That group secures grants for purchasing the equipment, then enlists local volunteers to actually build the park.

Mayor Hoyt Sanders and other council members said that the Kaboom option was not workable, because of the time needed to secure the grants would delay the construction of the park. Problems with getting enough volunteers to do the job were also cited.

The council also discussed the city budget for the coming fiscal year, with Roberts presenting a new version that breaks out numerous departmental expenditures and some revenue sources in greater detail.

Roberts also proposed a different method of reporting city finances each month, which would provide comparisons to the same period in the previous year and to the budgeted amounts. A resolution authorizing Roberts’ plan will be taken up at a later council meeting, as will approval of the budget itself.

In other business, the council:

• changed its meeting time and place for their July 17 session to 10 a.m. at the Palmerdale Homesteads Community Center

• amended the city’s business license code to provide adjustments for existing businesses which annexed into the city

• heard from resident Deborah Wilder about problems the Pinson Valley Youth Association’s football program is facing with player equipment that is no longer certified for use because of age. Wilder said the association was about $10,000 short of the amount needed to replace the helmets and pads.