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9 <br /> 1 Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute 159-48, local governments can issue General <br /> 2 Obligation bonds each year in an amount equal to two-thirds of the principal amount of debt <br /> 3 retired in the previous year. Two-thirds General Obligation bonds may be issued without <br /> 4 referendum but are subject to approval by the Local Government Commission in the same <br /> 5 manner as other debt financings. <br /> 6 <br /> 7 The County will retire $8.8 million in principal on outstanding General Obligation bonds in FY <br /> 8 2016-17. The Statutes allow the County to issue up to two-thirds of the $8.8 million in principal <br /> 9 retired or an additional General Obligation bond capacity of $5.9 million in FY 2017-18. This <br /> 10 bond capacity cannot be accumulated or carried forward to future years. The Board adopted a <br /> 11 resolution at its May 2, 2017 meeting providing preliminary approval of this bond issue. The <br /> 12 bond order was introduced at the May 16, 2017 BOCC meeting and a resolution authorizing <br /> 13 tonight's public hearing was adopted as well. Two-thirds bonds can be used for substantially all <br /> 14 the purposes for which voter-approved bonds may be issued except to fund auditoriums, <br /> 15 coliseums, stadiums, convention centers, art galleries, museums, historic properties, urban <br /> 16 redevelopment, public transportation or cable television systems. <br /> 17 <br /> 18 After review of the County's CIP and in consultation with the County's financial advisor, County <br /> 19 staff recommends that the County proceed to authorize and issue the two-thirds bonds for <br /> 20 school renovations and facility improvements for both school systems, as well as the costs of <br /> 21 issuance for the bonds. The bond proceeds would be allocated on the average daily <br /> 22 membership for both school systems, with Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) <br /> 23 receiving approximately $3.5 million and Orange County Schools (OCS) receiving $2.4 million. <br /> 24 Examples of school renovation and improvement projects include: Athletic Facilities, <br /> 25 Classroom/Building improvements, Mechanical Systems, Roofing projects, and School <br /> 26 Safety/Security improvements. Both school systems maintain flexibility in the process at this <br /> 27 point, but some of the currently planned projects include: <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) <br /> 30 • Athletic Field Improvements at Chapel Hill High School <br /> 31 • Athletic Field Improvements at Carrboro High School <br /> 32 • Classroom Improvements in Science classrooms at Phillips Middle School <br /> 33 • Cooling Tower Replacement at Scroggs Elementary <br /> 34 • Cooling Tower Replacement at East Chapel Hill High School <br /> 35 <br /> 36 Orange County Schools (OCS) <br /> 37 • Upgrade Science classrooms at Cedar Ridge High School <br /> 38 • Roofing Project at Central Elementary <br /> 39 • Roofing Project at New Hope Elementary <br /> 40 • School Safety Initiatives district-wide <br /> 41 • Food Service Facility Improvements at Grady A. Brown Elementary and Orange High <br /> 42 School <br /> 43 <br /> 44 As noted above, the two-thirds bonds for schools are separate from the November 2016 bonds <br /> 45 for schools. However, for time and cost efficiency, the financing plan will combine the issuance <br /> 46 of the two-thirds bonds with the issuance of the first bonds authorized by the November 2016 <br /> 47 referendum. That bond sale is planned for September 2017. <br /> 48 <br /> 49 A motion was made by Commissioner Burroughs, seconded by Commissioner Rich to <br /> 50 open the public hearing. <br />