Commission OK's bond sale (03/27/07)

As it looks at financing a sewer project near the Premier Ethanol site, Jay County's Redevelopment Commission approved the sale of $2 million in bonds during a meeting Monday afternoon.

Sue Beesley, an attorney with Bingham-McHale, Indianapolis, who serves as counsel to the commission, explained Monday it is hoped that closing on the bonds can be completed in June or July, following a hearing with the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) on April 26 in Indianapolis.

Financing the project will be the sale of tax-exempt Tax Increment Financing (TIF) bonds in an amount not to exceed more than $2 million.

Members of the Jay County Council agreed earlier this month to back the bonds with property taxes in the event the TIF district does not generate enough tax revenue to repay the bonds.

The bond revenue will be used to finance a sewer line the county will be installing from a site on the north side of the Salamonia River northwest of the Premier site and continuing east along county road 150 South. It will then flow to a lift station near Blaine Pike and will eventually connect to Portland's wastewater treatment plant.

Jay County Commissioners learned Monday that bids for the construction materials of the lift station will be let this week.

While that project has been estimated at about $700,000, Beesley advised the commission to seek the additional money.

"Since we haven't gotten any bids, we don't want to come back if something comes in high," she said about the $2 million figure. "We don't want to have to start over." The bonds will be sold in $5,000 denominations, Beesley added.

She also said financial consultant Greg Guerrettaz of FSG Corp., Indianapolis, advised that the sale of taxable bonds, which will be used to reimburse Premier for infrastructure costs, will be delayed for 30 days.

A maximum amount for those bonds has been estimated at $3.1 million to $4.4 million.[[In-content Ad]]