Greene commissioners could float bond issue
WAYNESBURG – The Greene County Commissioners will consider floating a $5.2 million bond issue Thursday to help county municipalities begin infrastructure projects across the district. After discussing the possibility of the bond issue last month, the commissioners will meet with bond counsel Chris Brewer and underwriter Tom Kinney to discuss their financial options to help the county begin sewage and water projects in several areas.
“The catalyst here is to be able to have the money to help our municipalities and authorities to have the seed money to get started and leverage the state for funding for their projects,” Commission Chairwoman Pam Snyder said.
While Snyder said the county does currently have some debt, the commissioners are going to discuss a wraparound issue to help pay off the existing balances and noted that preliminary estimates regarding the bond do not include a tax increase to pay for the issue.
Snyder said specific areas that would be affected by the new money are Cabbage Flats in the Southeastern Greene area, portions of Route 88 in Carmichaels, Lower Ten Mile in Jefferson and Waynesburg Borough, which has had problems with flood waters and their sewerage system.
“We want to touch every school district with this money in some capacity,” Snyder said.
She also noted that some of the bond issue would be used to help pay the county match needed for projects like the new county swimming pool and the bike trail, but added that the funds used for county projects should be reimbursed eventually through state and federal grants.
“Sometimes you have to wait a year or two to get that money,” Snyder said.
“This way we can get those projects done while we wait for the state and federal grants to come in.”
The pool project is scheduled to begin construction following the summer months and is estimated to cost about $2.5 million, of which the county has secured about $2 million in state and federal money toward.
Last month the county reached an agreement with the state regarding reimbursement of funds for the long-awaited Greene Trail, which has been a major part of the county’s recreation push for the last few years.
Work began on the trail in 1999 in Cumberland and Jefferson townships.
Snyder and Commissioner Dave Coder said they have been working on a possible bond issue to help county municipalities since Snyder took office and also noted that this in not the first time in Coder’s tenure on the commission that the county has floated a bond.
Commissioners used a multi-million bond to help finish renovations to the county courthouse, Coder said.
Coder noted the county will be receiving another revenue boost this year after the county met with area coal companies to lobby for a new agreement on mineral values for the county tax rolls.
According to Coder, the negations were deemed “successful.”
He said the county should have exact figures today regarding the additional values and be able to release the information after meeting with area school districts.
“We pushed the envelope really hard on this one,” Coder said Tuesday. “This will help a huge amount with our assessed value on coal.”