County Manager Jerry Ayscue told commissioners at the regular meeting of the Vance County Board of Commissioners on Monday evening that the Vance County school system submitted applications for construction bonds but needed for the commission to approve the applications.
The bonds that are available are Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (Q-ZAB) and Qualified School Construction Bonds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Ayscue pointed out that there is already a Q-ZAB that is still pending with the school system. He told members that the bonds are not only interest-free but better than interest-free.
A Q-ZAB applies interest paid over the fourteen year life of the bond back to the principle, reducing the payoff amount to less than the initial amount borrowed.
The county manager told members that the school system wishes primarily to build multi-purpose rooms with the money. Those multi-purpose rooms would be constructed at three schools in the county.
Ayscue went on to recommend approving the applications contingent upon further action by the county to actually obligate the county.
Commissioner Danny Wright asked what the annual cash flow would be on the bond. Finance Officer Steven Stanton estimated that it would be about $100,000 per year.
Commissioner Dan Brummitt asked if the projected costs on the school projects were current. Ayscue said that he knew that they were updated eighteen months ago, but that he did not know specifically if they had been updated since then.
Before a vote was taken on the matter, Brummitt stated that he wanted to be clear that the county was not committing to the projects, and that the projects would be looked at by the county in a timely manner.
Danny Wright said that his “inclination” was to support the projects when the time came.
The motion to approve the applications passed with no opposition.