Orange County NC Website
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Carey to <br /> approve the six-mile insurance district maps for the rural fire districts and five-mile insurance <br /> district maps for the East Alamance District and Greater Chapel Hill Fire District. <br /> VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br /> c. Housing Bond Program — Eno Haven <br /> The Board considered approval of the issuance of a portion of the remaining authorized <br /> housing bonds as taxable bonds for the proposed Eno Haven multi-family rental complex. <br /> Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes said that the Bond Counsel <br /> explained this situation clearly above. The actual application has been reviewed by the North <br /> Carolina Housing Finance Agency. It is clear that, in order to get the maximum benefit of the <br /> tax credits, the bonds would have to be issued as taxable. The developer has agreed to take <br /> on the responsibility of paying the additional debt service cost that would be associated with <br /> issuing these bonds as taxable. According to the current estimate, the additional debt cost <br /> would be $260,000. <br /> Commissioner Nelson said that since this is a private company, what would happen to <br /> the project. Tara Fikes said that she is pretty sure that there will be a way to guarantee that the <br /> project remains affordable. <br /> Geof Gledhill said that a deed of trust only guarantees land returns to Orange County. <br /> The County will have the ability to get the property back. <br /> Commissioner Nelson said that this is a scarier way to proceed, but he will not vote <br /> against it. <br /> Bob Jessup said that the requirements of the federal tax credit program will impose a <br /> restriction on the property for dedication for affordable housing for at least 20 years. There is <br /> no way to take the business risk out of this. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said that she needs more time and details. She has had <br /> concerns before about private versus non-profit entities. She would prefer that Tara Fikes and <br /> Geof Gledhill come back with details about how the County would be protected. <br /> Commissioner Foushee said that she is a member of the Affordable Housing Advisory <br /> Board and she has a better understanding of the project. She said that she has some of the <br /> same concerns that Commissioner Nelson has. However, she does believe that the nature of <br /> the project is such that the County does not have this type of affordable housing for the aging <br /> and the disabled in northern Orange County. She sees this as an opportunity. She is ready to <br /> move adoption of this item. <br /> A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Carey to <br /> approve the issuance of a portion of the remaining authorized housing bonds as taxable bonds <br /> for the proposed Eno Haven multi-family rental complex. <br /> Commissioner Carey said that the Board specifically voted to allow for-profits to <br /> compete for projects, and the Board voted in June to approve this project. <br /> Chair Jacobs asked about a deadline. <br /> Sherrad Banks was with the developer. He thanked the Board for supporting the project <br /> in June. He said that, at the time that the agenda item was prepared, the State finance agency <br /> had not yet awarded tax credits. Just this past Friday, the State awarded tax credits for this <br /> project. He made reference to the bankruptcy issue; this project has $4.9 million in equity from <br /> the syndication of federal tax credits. This is a substantial percentage of the project. In addition <br /> to that, there is $700,000 of equity coming from the State from syndication of the State tax <br /> credits. The partner in this transaction is RBC Capital Markets. This will ensure that the project <br /> will not go belly up. There will be some private debt from the $1.7 million, and this will be the <br /> first lien on the project. The State will have a $500,000 lien on the project also. He said that it <br />