At the regular Union County Commission meeting in July, commissioners voted on a resolution to issue bonds to fund the new middle school.
Scott Gibson from Cumberland Securities and the county financial advisor explained the procedure. The bond resolution is for $26,250,000.
The bonds will be issued in three phases: $10M in 2023, $10M in 2024, and the balance of $6.25M in 2025. The payment is for 20 years with a four percent interest rate.
This plan will save about $8M over a longer plan. The lowest payment of $100,000 is in 2026 with highest payment of $1.7M about halfway and most payments in the $1.4M range. According to Gibson, the county will realize half a year of revenue in 2024 from the wheel tax increase and a full year beginning with FY25.
Also, by selling bonds over a three year period, the money not in use can draw interest at five percent or more.
The result is the borrowed money not currently in use will be saved at a higher rate than the payment interest. The bonds will also be able to be retired early if the commission chooses to pay more on the principal to reduce the interest after the mandatory security period.
The good news is the revenue from the wheel tax and the payments from the school system along with 20 cents of the property tax increase will cover the cost of the bond and should not cause a future increase in the property tax to pay off the bond. The vote was 13 to 3 with Commissioners Cooke, Cox and Beeler voting against the bond issue to build the middle school.
Prior to the bond issue resolution, the commission passed the increase in the wheel tax on second reading. The increase will be $20 and will make the total wheel tax $50, the same amount as some surrounding counties. The motion also passed 13 to 3 with Commissioners Cooke, Cox, and Beeler voting against the increase. The state will determine the date that the increase will take effect.
Commissioner Sidney Jessee Jr. is the chairman of the jail committee. He explained that the jail committee had met and shared all of the various proposals with the state advisors.
When the committee showed the state advisors the current middle school property, the advisors noted that the building could be renovated into courtrooms and administrative offices and that the current HMMS football field appeared to be a perfect spot for a jail. This proposal, along with several others, will be discussed at a jail committee meeting to be scheduled for early August. The hope and the plan is that the jail construction will align with the middle school construction so that the sports will not be adversely affected if the repurposing plan is adopted. This proposal also saves the expense of purchasing land.
For years, the commission and the school board have allowed public comment on the agendas. However, a recent state law will require that all public meetings must allow time for public comment. The commission will discuss changes to the public comment section and plan to pass the resolution in August. The members of the governing body for all public meetings will also be required to establish time on their agendas and guidelines as well.
During the public comment, Barbara England reported that she had administered an online survey which received nearly 300 participants. According to her, most did not want an increase in wheel tax or property tax, but felt that the middle school was not a healthy place for children to have school and a new school was needed. However, there were concerns expressed over maintenance of current and new buildings.
The sheriff's food storage has been a continual concern since its space was displaced by the new voting machines. According to County Mayor Jason Bailey, the renovations needed to make the Insurance Building on Court Street suitable are not economically feasible. The mayor and some of the jail committee members have reviewed the Steiner Building for food storage. The end that used to be the post office has a concrete floor. Since the county will soon own the building, the roof repairs and other renovations would allow that space to become the jail pantry. The jail committee will discuss the location of a jail and the food storage in August.
Mayor Bailey noted several items in his report. He appointed and the commission approved Lauren Effler and Chip Brown to the UC Library Board. He explained that UC Solid Waste had received a grant to replace the administration building on Wolfe Road with a new building. He asked and received approval for the sheriff to access surplus military equipment. He said that his office will apply for a $100,000 Tourism Grant with a $10,000 match from the hotel/motel tax to complete the “Music Wall of Fame” at Heritage Park.
Maintenance will occur on the wall at Veteran’s Place in July and August to repair a small leak. The comptroller approved the FY24 budget. He shared final plans for Heritage Park as well as a state proposal for the boat launch at Blue Mud near Big Ridge State Park.
The budget committee will meet on August 15. Planning commission and county commission will meet on August 28.