Fayette commissioners table refinancing, line of credit for building upgrades
At its regular monthly meeting Thursday, the Fayette County Board of Commissioners tabled refinancing county debt and providing a line of credit for capital needs.
Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites moved to table a resolution authorizing a general obligation note not to exceed $10 million to consist of refinancing outstanding county debt and establishing a line of credit.
At last month’s regular voting meeting, the commissioners approved a presentation by Financing Ideas Incorporated of options for that refinancing and line of credit. Vicites said then that Financing Ideas Incorporated and Dinmore Shohl LLP, as bond counsel, would work with county officials and auditors, and with Susquehanna Accounting & Consulting Solutions, Inc. to develop a financing program.
But Vicites said at Thursday’s meeting that the county’s financial consultant and bond counsel “weren’t quite ready to get it to our venue for approval” despite working diligently on the project, adding that the resolution would be considered again at next month’s voting meeting.
As they did last month, Vicites and Lohr emphasized that the refinancing and line of credit would be geared toward upgrading the structural integrity of several county buildings, significantly extending the repayment term for a loan taken out by the previous board of commissioners.
“When we came into office (in 2016), we were made aware at the eleventh hour that we had the repayment of this loan, principal and interest, structured only for eight years,” Vicites said. “It really should have been structured for 25 years or more, for projects for long-term construction and so forth. We had to refinance this to get the payment more reasonable for the taxpayers.”
Vicites said last month that the county was only on the hook to pay $10 million, or the first year, of a $40 million tax-exempt loan of $10 million per year taken out by the previous administration of commissioners, and that the refinancing will extend that repayment term to 25 years and lower the interest rate to around 3.34 percent.
Vicites and Lohr expect the refinancing to allow the county to more expeditiously address the “major structural issues” that Vicites said its buildings face.
Lohr said the roof of the Federal Building and the outside wall on the Public Service Building in downtown Uniontown need to be addressed.
“There’ll be a lot of expenses there,” Lohr said, adding after the meeting that paint was peeling off walls in the Fayette County Courthouse.
Lohr added that he wanted the inside of county buildings to be upgraded as well.
“We want people to be proud of walking in here and encouraged to not look down on the county,” Lohr said. “Our county needs to turn a corner, go in a different direction, when it comes to the pride issue.”
The county would have had a payment of more than $1 million due this year had the county not pursued refinancing, Vicites said.
Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink was absent from Thursday’s meeting, having also missed last month’s regular voting meeting.
In other business, the commissioners approved ABM Building Solutions to conduct a preliminary assessment of county-owned facilities for energy conservation measures and improvements at no cost.
Later in the meeting, Vicites listed upcoming county board and authority openings. Vicites said that interested applicants should turn in letters of interest by Nov. 20, with appointments hopefully to come by Jan. 1.
Vicites listed the following county board and authority openings: Agricultural Land Preservation Board (one municipal officer representative and one farmer representative), Airport Authority (one member), Children and Youth Services Board (numerous openings), Health Center Authority (one opening), Housing Authority (one), Industrial Development Authority (one), Behavioral Health Administration (four), North Fayette County Municipal Authority (two), Planning Commission (two), Regional Trail Corporation (one), Transportation Executive Committee (one), Uniform Construction Code Appeals Board (five), Zoning Hearing Board (two), Emergency Medical Services Board (one), Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services Board (one).