EWC seeks bonds for ATEC construction

Staff Report
Posted 10/13/17

TORRINGTON -- As part of the consent agenda for the Oct. 10 Eastern Wyoming College Board of Trustees meeting, the board authorized EWC to seek tax exempt general obligations financing proposals as provided for in the bond issue approved by county voters in 2014.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

EWC seeks bonds for ATEC construction

Posted
TORRINGTON -- As part of the consent agenda for the Oct. 10 Eastern Wyoming College Board of Trustees meeting, the board authorized EWC to seek tax exempt general obligations financing proposals as provided for in the bond issue approved by county voters in 2014.
The college plans to issue a general obligation bond for $3,271,729 to finance a portion of the total estimated costs to construct the proposed $7.9 million Agricultural Technology Education Center on the North Campus. The rest of the project will be financed with a federal FDA employment development grant, and private fundraising.
Full financing must be in place prior to committing to a general contractor. A prerequisite to the bond sale is to identify the terms that local lenders are willing to offer based on current market conditions, and EWC will seek proposals for financing options to determine the best terms available. The desired repayment period for the financing is 15 years. The target interest rate is 4.5 percent or less.
Barbara Bonds, a Cheyenne attorney, will provide the associated legal services to certify the qualified tax-exempt status of this private-placement bond issue. Valid bank proposal offers will be summarized for further board action at a future regular meeting.
The proposed bidding and construction schedule includes:
• Design Completion, Oct. 15;
• First advertisement for bids, Dec. 15;
• Bid opening, Jan. 15, 2018;
• Awarding of contract, Feb. 1, 2018;
• Notice to Proceed issued, March 1, 2018;
• Preconstruction conference, March 1, 2018, and;
• Expected construction start, March 1, 2018;
Anticipated completion date of the project will be June 2019.
There will be two accounts in the local bank offering the best terms, one account for construction, and one maintenance and repairs reserve account.
The remainder of the $6.4 million bond issue was invested in the new Career and Technical Education Center that opened on the main campus this fall.